


you charge me up like electricity

by lucasthegerman



Series: How many Lucases and Eliotts? [1]
Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: A lot of miscommunication, Allergies, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Angry Sex, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Sex Shop owner Lucas, Sexual Tension, Spoiler Alert: They're both idiots, Top Eliott, but I promise they'll have a happy ending, like seriously, lucas pov, power bottom lucas, to feelings, you'll probably want to murder them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:24:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 50,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21760126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucasthegerman/pseuds/lucasthegerman
Summary: For the prompt:Imagine that you've been stood up by your douche of a boyfriend on date night and the waitress keeps asking if you're ready to order but you keep asking for more time hoping that he's just late. People are starting to look at you with those apologetic looks like they know and you start to feel worse and worse about the whole situation but as you decide to just get up and leave, this boy you've never seen sits down explaining loudly  'Sorry I'm so late, babe, traffic is crazy right now.' and he quietly adds, 'I'm Michael. Just go with it, yeah? Whoever didn't bother to show up is a dick.' And so you do go with it because he's being sweet and trying to save you (and plus he's the cutest thing you've ever seen) and as you're leaving the restaurant after the best non-planned date ever, he asks you out for real this time.Let's do it, but let's spice things up a little, shall we?
Relationships: Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant
Series: How many Lucases and Eliotts? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568335
Comments: 121
Kudos: 529





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I make a new ao3 just so I can have all the Skam works I have planned here? Yep. I did. 
> 
> Soooo, I hope you guys enjoy this short multi-chapter. Hang on to your wigs tight, they're really dumb in this one.
> 
> Also, thank you @edemaurry for putting up with me and my ideas and helping me come up with even more ideas. Je t'aime fort!
> 
> This is beta-ed by the amazing @flying_elliska. GO READ HER WORKS ASAP IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, THEY'RE MASTERPIECES! Thank you Ellie for putting up with me too. Without you, this work would have been complete trash. <3

His right leg keeps bouncing nervously under the table when he grabs his phone once more to check out the time. His screen reads 20:43 which means that Lucas has been sitting at this table for almost an hour now. Almost an hour of him waiting like a fool, of him wanting to blow out the stupid candle that is still burning at the center of the table, of the waitress coming up to him to ask if he was ready to order yet, of people giving him pitying looks when he keeps telling her that he’s still waiting on someone and if she could _please just give me some more time, he’ll be here soon._ Because he believes it. He still believes that Jonathan is going to show up like he promised, even though he hasn’t been answering Lucas’s calls and texts for the past three hours. 

The whole situation is ridiculous and shameful. Lucas is literally sitting all alone in a romantic restaurant, clearly made for couples, where the tables are only for two and the lights are tamed to give off an intimate vibe. And he’s alone. He’s alone and surrounded by all these couples. He knows that he should just get out of here and he knows that he needs to stop expecting anything from his boyfriend. He’s tired of being let down all the time whenever they have something planned. Is it too much to ask for, one date night? 

The worst part is that it wasn’t like that at all in the beginning. When they first started dating, Jonathan was sweet and caring and he loved to go out on dates with Lucas. And it’s because of these good moments that Lucas keeps clinging onto the idea that maybe his boyfriend will care enough about their relationship to try and get things back to the way they were.

Lucas sighs heavily when his eyes lock with the waitress, who is once again walking up to him with a strained smile. _Yeah, he knows should leave._

“Sir,” She starts in an apologetic tone when she stops by his table. “I’m really sorry but it’s been an hour and if you’re not going to order anything, you need to go so we can get the table free for–”

Lucas nods in understanding, already pushing back his chair when a loud voice calls out from behind the waitress, interrupting her speech.

“Oh god, I’m sorry, I’m _so sorry baby._ I was stuck at work and then the traffic was crazy!” A small chuckle and then, a tall guy with messy bed-hair that Lucas has never seen before in his life takes the chair opposite him and smiles brightly towards Lucas before he turns to the waitress. “Hi, you don’t mind giving us a few more minutes?” The waitress blinks at him, probably just as awestruck as Lucas is right now in front of such a beautiful human-being, before she shakes her head to clear it up, a charming smile on her face. 

“No problem, sir.”

The stranger grins and reaches out to take the menu from her hands. “I’ll take this, thank you so much.” 

And then she’s gone, and Lucas finds himself frozen and speechless on his chair. Unable to tear his gaze away from the man that is currently looking through the menu with his utmost attention. He’s apparently not the only one that can’t look away, Lucas can see people from his peripheral vision turning their heads to look at the stranger that joined him at the table.

The man looks up from the menu and Lucas nearly falls from his chair when their eyes lock together.

_Oh, wow._

And that’s all his brain can supply right now because those eyes. _Those. Eyes._ They’re not real. Lucas has never seen eyes like these before. So intense. So blue. So gray. So captivating… _Fuck._

“I’m Eliott,” the stranger says low enough to not be heard by the others but loud enough that Lucas catches what he says. And well, even if he didn’t, he would have understood it anyway because as soon as _Eliott_ opened his mouth to speak, Lucas’s eyes instantly went to his lips. “Just go with it… I don’t know who you were supposed to meet but, they’re a dick for not even bothering to show up.”

_Oh._

Lucas frowns slightly. So here’s this guy, that Lucas has never seen before and he joined him at his table because he apparently noticed that Lucas was expecting someone that never showed up. That’s a pretty good summary, and part of Lucas feels like some sort of charity case. He hates it. But, another part of him, much louder than the other, thinks that he could just go along with this and share a dinner with a beautiful man that he will never get to see again.

His decision is made when he meets Eliott’s expectant eyes and says, “I’m Lucas.” 

“ _Lucas_ ,” Eliott repeats his name in a whisper like he’s trying out the sound of it in his mouth for the first time. And it’s so endearing that Lucas needs to mentally scold himself for even thinking that. He can’t go and get all funny feelings about this guy, that he knows nothing about, just saying his name. 

He has a boyfriend, doesn’t he?


	2. War of hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to the best beta out here @flying_elliska (I'm serious, go read her works!)

_(17 months later)_

Lucas pushes the door of the shop open and kneels down to take off the leash from Ouba. His sweet girl waggles her fluffy tail excitedly and as soon as she’s free, she runs into the shop like she does every morning to greet Arthur.

“Hey, sweetie!” Lucas hears his friend greet his dog and smiles fondly as he makes his way to the front desk where a coffee with his name on it awaits for him. _Bless Arthur!_ “Hey, man.” He looks up from his still warm beverage to find Arthur walking up to him with Ouba in his arms. “Wow, you look like shit.” _Un-bless Arthur._

Lucas squints his eyes and flips him off. “Good morning to you too, asshole.” 

“Okay, I see. Still grumpy.” Arthur sighs and puts Ouba down on her little pink, fluffy bed that they keep under the front desk. 

Some people would find it weird that Lucas always brings his dog at work, but ever since he got Ouba when she was just a tiny fluffy ball -that still hasn’t changed-, Lucas has decided that he could never leave her alone waiting for him at home. 

Seeing as he owns the shop with Arthur, it was no problem at all when he made the decision to get Ouba everything she needed to be comfortable in his workplace. 

“Is it still your new neighbor that keeps you from sleeping?” His friend crosses his arms and leans his hip against the counter.

Lucas frowns at the mention of his new neighbor. Ever since the guy moved in two weeks ago, Lucas hasn’t been able to sleep because the guy has a sex drive higher than his will to live and it’s just insufferable. Every night, the guy has a new partner, and by now Lucas already knows that he doesn’t care what gender they are. Dude just loves sex way too much. He doesn’t care that their walls are thin and that Lucas can’t sleep because he keeps hearing the bed pounding against the wall and people screaming like they’re in an 80s porn movie.

“Bingo.” Lucas is well aware of how grumpy he sounds right now, but well, his friends are used to him being a grumpy person in the morning. And honestly, it’s ten times worse when he can’t sleep, the guys would understand him if they were in his shoes.

“What was it this time? Guy or girl?” 

“It was a girl.” He reaches for his coffee and takes a sip of it, he can’t help the disgusted face he makes when he starts recalling the awful noises he heard last night. “You see, that’s why I’ll never be able to sleep with a girl, she was screaming like a lunatic and it even scared Ouba who started barking at the wall.” He looks down at his dog that is currently chewing on one of her toys. 

“No, Lucas. You won’t ever sleep with a girl because you like dicks. That has nothing to do with how girls sound when they have sex. Although you’re right… some of them exaggerate.” 

“Is that why you tend to go more for guys now?” Lucas asks with a smirk that he hides behind his coffee.

“No? I mean, I don’t know... Man, it’s hard to be bisexual. It’s like having mood-swings. One moment I just see girls, and like the next month, I’ll only turn to check out guys. Now, I’m just in a _guys_ mood. Like… guys are so cute.” Lucas snorts but he definitely agrees on that one. “And, speaking of cute guys...” Arthur’s eyes follow something behind Lucas's shoulder and then, he does a dramatic turn just as the door of their shop swings open. “How is my favorite Lucas doing?”

Lucas glances towards the person that just walked in: Lucas Van Der Heijden, VDH for short, who looks from Arthur to Lucas and back to Arthur with a grin.

“Careful, Arthur, he’s gonna be jealous.” VDH gestures vaguely towards Lucas but never takes his eyes away from his friend.

_Ugh._ These two are disgusting. They should just hook up already, they’ve been dancing around each other for months now. 

“Oh, him? Let him be, he’s just not a morning person. Well, he’s barely a person– _Ow!”_ Arthur glares at Lucas who just punched his shoulder before he turns back to VDH. _“_ How can I help you, sunshine of my life?” 

VDH actually giggles at that and Lucas rolls his eyes. 

“I’m out of condoms, so...” It’s fascinating to see the guy go from a giggling mess to a nervous, blushing mess in a span of two seconds. 

Lucas also wonders if the whole _I’m out of condoms_ isn’t just an excuse for VDH to come to the shop and see Arthur. Because who walks into a sex shop at ten in the morning, dressed-up like you’re going out on a date, only to buy condoms? Seriously, who? Besides, he could literally get condoms anywhere at this time, he didn’t have to necessarily come to their shop. 

His friend doesn’t seem to buy it either.

“Baby, you didn’t need to come all the way down here this early in the morning just to try and make me jealous.” Arthur sighs deeply, looking actually disappointed and VDH squirms on his feet.

“Th-that’s not...”

“How about I give you those condoms and something else for free?” Arthur cuts him off, leaning over the counter to get closer to VDH.

“What something else?” VDH asks suspiciously.

“Me.” 

Lucas chokes on his coffee. Damn him for drinking this whilst listening to their conversation. But wow, smooth Arthur. _Real smooth_.

“Well!” Lucas puts his coffee down loudly, waiting to get away from the sudden sexual tension that he’s currently being the witness of. “I’m just going to go and restock the shel– …whatever, you two aren’t even listening.” He gives up halfway through his explanation and bends over to pick up his dog. “Come on Ouba, let’s go. They don’t even care that there’s a child listening to their dirty talk.” 

***

Lucas’s day went by way too quickly. Between restocking the shelves, being at the front desk and advising people on what sex toy they should buy to spice up their boring sex life, he didn’t see the time fly and at 6 pm, he’s closing the shop with Arthur.

“How about beers and pizza?” Arthur suggests once he’s done attaching the leash on Ouba’s collar and then wrapping it around his wrist. 

“Sure. My place though, I’m too tired to go anywhere right now.” Because he may not have seen the day go by, he still lacks sleep and he feels it deep in his bones with every heavy step he takes. “Text the boys to join us?”

“Already done.” Arthur grins when Lucas glares at him. “What? As if you would have said no.” 

“I could have!” Lucas protests, ignoring his friend’s snort.

“Nope, you love us too much,” Arthur says smugly. 

“Whatever.”

For the rest of their walk to Lucas’ place, Arthur unsurprisingly talks about Lucas VDH. Telling him how the guy is adorable and he just wants to eat him up (the mental images it gives Lucas… he wishes he could stop himself from picturing the whole thing, but it’s too late). Or how Arthur may act confident around him, he’s still terrified to ask him on a date, even though he knows that VDH likes him too. 

“I think you should just go for it,” Lucas tells him once they step out of the elevator and reach his door. “You never know… he might grow tired of all this dancing around if it’s not leading to anything.” He shrugs and unlocks the door to let them all in.

“Yeah, I know. You’re right...” Arthur bites on his bottom lip, thoughtful. “It’s just scary you know?”

“Arthur, he likes you. He likes you a lot. Dude, seriously, have you seen the way his eyes light up when he’s looking at you? And it’s like no one else is in the room, you’re all he can see.” When Arthur doesn’t reply but instead smiles that dopey smile of his, Lucas chuckles, shaking his head in exasperation. “Alright, go get us beers while I go get changed. Oh and… can you feed Ouba please?”

“On it, dude.” 

“Thanks!” 

Lucas is exhausted, he needs to resist the temptation of just throwing himself on his bed and pass out for the next 72 hours. He hasn’t even made three steps into his bedroom when a sadly familiar and loud bass drop coming from the other side of the wall starts playing.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Lucas hears Arthur laughing loudly from the kitchen.

This must be a joke. It was heavenly silent when he walked in and he was so glad and looking forward to finally have a night where he could just chill with his friends but no, mister _bad-taste-in-music_ had to go and start playing dubstep just when Lucas gets home from work. He’s seriously doubting that he’s going to last like this. He’s definitely going to lose it.

And well, as soon as the thought crosses his mind, Lucas decides _fuck it._ Because he’s not going to go through another evening like this, it’s getting on his nerves. He quickly changes into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before he’s rushing out of his bedroom. 

“I’m going to fucking kill him!” Lucas hisses, speed-walking towards his door because he’s made his decision. He’s going to go up there and strangle his neighbor with his own bare hands.

“Lucas! Hey, hey– Lucas. Calm down!” Arthur rushes up to him and plants himself between Lucas and the door. “You need to calm down, if you go up there now, pissed off like this, things will get ugly. You need to take care of this problem with a clear head, you’re too angry right now.”

Arthur is right, of course, he is. But the dubstep still playing loudly in the background doesn’t help him calm down. Like, at all. 

The knocking on his door makes them both pause and glance towards it for a moment. Deep down Lucas is hoping it’s his neighbor, not that he has a reason to knock on his door right now, but if it’s him, it’ll give him a chance to be rude.

When he goes to open it though, it’s not a stranger he finds on the other side of the door. Basile and Yann stand there with boxes of pizza in their hands and a pack of beers.

“Wow, dude, what is going on? Is your neighbor throwing a satanic party or something?” Yann asks when he glances from the neighbor’s door to Lucas.

“You see what I have to live with now,” Lucas tells him, pushing the door open wide to let them in. 

“I actually like it. The music, I mean.” Basile says with a shrug.

“Of course you do.” Lucas rolls his eyes and closes the door behind them.

“Wait--” Basile stops on his tracks when they all head up to the living room. They all fall silent and turn to him, waiting. “Is this… Katy Perry?” _What?_ “Oh my god! It is! It’s her song, E.T. Wow, cool remix.” _Seriously?_

**_You're from a whole 'nother world_ **

**_A different dimension_ **

They try to ignore it, they really do. But, the song keeps playing on repeat, still as loudly as before. They can barely hear each other speaking and Lucas is starting to get a headache. 

“You know what?” Arthur tells him when he notices Lucas rubbing his temples with irritation. “Maybe you should get some payback.”

“What do you mean?” Lucas groans, feeling his heart pounding in his brain.

“Annoy the fuck out of him.” Arthur shrugs and Lucas perks up at that.

“This could end terribly.” Yann, the voice of reason, adds. But Lucas never listened to reason, even though he should. Yann is his best friend and most of the time, he knows best. But oh, well – he’ll do as he always does and tell Lucas ‘I told you so’ when this all goes to shit. 

“No, he deserves it.” Lucas agrees immediately to Arthur’s advice.

“What are you gonna do? Play The Clash?” Basile asks, his mouth full of pizza.

Lucas smiles. “No, I’m going to send him a little message.” 

“Uh-oh...” 

Yann sighs but Lucas is already on his feet and walking up to the huge stereo that he has up against the wall of his living room. He goes through his playlist on his phone before he connects the two together. The sound is turned up at full volume when _Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair_ by the Arctic Monkeys starts playing. He does notice some of his furniture shaking from how loud the bass is but he doesn’t care. He’s pretty sure his neighbor is listening to his message, and hopefully, he’ll stop being a jerk from now on.

The boys wince and look at him like Lucas has gone crazy.

“Dude!” Arthur yells over the music and Lucas chuckles. He closes his eyes, breathing in deeply before he starts dancing and singing loudly to the song.

Let the game begin.

***

Lucas struggled to get out of bed the next morning. 

It’s no surprise that his neighbor slept once again with someone and kept him up all night. And just as he was blissfully falling asleep, his alarm blared up loudly making him groan and push his face into his pillow. _Fuck his life._

He goes about his morning routine slower than usual, even the warm shower doesn’t help. And just as he’s making his way to the kitchen to make himself some strong coffee, he notices Ouba scratching and playing with something by the front door.

“Come on, baby girl. Time for breakfast.” His dog doesn’t react, she just keeps playing with whatever she found. Lucas supposes it’s a bug or a spider – which, disgusting. “Ouba...” Lucas sighs and kneels down next to her. She finally glances up at him and Lucas notices a bright pink post-it note in her mouth. It makes him frown as he reaches out to take it from her. “What’s this, sweetie?”

His eyes quickly scan the note and as soon as he registers the words on it, Lucas stands on his feet, his blood burning through his veins. _He must be fucking kidding me!_

Lucas clenches his fist around the note before he glances down at it again and it only makes him angrier.

> _Hi, neighbor!_
> 
> _I really like that song you played last night,_
> 
> _would you mind telling me what it’s called?_

“Fuck you!” Lucas grits his teeth and rips off the note in pieces. “So you want to fucking play, asshole.” 

After he throws the ripped off pieces into the trash, Lucas heads up once again to his stereo, connecting his phone to it. _Te Quiero Puta!_ by Rammstein starts playing loudly throughout the whole apartment and Lucas hits the repeat option before a smile stretches on his lips and he goes back to the kitchen to finally make his much-needed coffee.

The meaning behind the song is that the ‘puta’ is definitely aimed at his neighbor. But, the rest of it is aimed at his current partner because the guy (yep, it was a guy this time) shouldn’t expect anything but sex from his asshole of a neighbor. Tonight he’ll be sleeping with someone new, that’s just what he does.

Once he’s ready to go to work, Lucas stops by the stereo to stop the song that has been playing non-stop ever since he put it on, when suddenly a bright idea pops up in his brain. He opens his laptop first and prints out the translated lyrics of the song. He crosses out every ‘Te Quiero’ or in this case ‘I Love You’, then he takes a post-it note that he sticks to the lyrics and writes on it: _Hope you learned Spanish in school, but just in case, here are the translated lyrics. :)_

He slides the lyrics with the note underneath his neighbor’s door and then he’s off to work with Ouba trotting happily by his side. 

***

“You did what?!” Arthur gasps, staring at Lucas with wide eyes and mouth opened.

Lucas rolls his eyes and puts his fingers under his friend’s chin to snap his mouth closed. “He started it.”

The way Arthur is looking at him right now though… Lucas thought his friend would be proud of him for doing what he did. After all, Arthur came up with the payback idea himself last night. And now he’s looking at Lucas as if he’s just killed a kitten? Whatever.

“Oh my God, Lucas… _He started it?_ Really? You sound like a child! When I said ‘payback’, I meant like a one-time thing not – holy shit, Yann was right, this is going to end terribly.” 

“Well,” Lucas shrugs. “Too late now, I’m not backing down from this.” He looks back down at the screen of his phone and a smirk tugs at his lips.

“I should’ve never said anything in the first place.” Arthur sounds frustrated. “And what the hell are you doing right now?”

“Grindr.”

“ _Grindr_ ,” Arthur repeats incredulously as Lucas starts typing out a reply to a guy that has been flirting with him. _Kinda cute._ “Oh no. I see what the fuck you’re planning on doing, Lucas!”

“I’m an adult, I’m allowed to have sex if I want to, Arthur. And I desperately need to get off. Sooner rather than later.”

Arthur sighs, considering him suspiciously for a moment. “Wait… is this whole thing you two are doing turning you on or something?”

“What the fuck?!” Lucas looks up from his phone to glare at his friend.

Arthur is quick to raise his hands in a defensive gesture. “Well dude, you can’t blame me for asking. You two start this mess and suddenly you’re horny.”

“I’m horny because I haven’t been fucked in ages, Arthur.” 

“Whatever you say.” His friend shrugs ignoring Lucas’ murderous eyes on him.

***

The worst part about their stupid game is probably the fact that Lucas hasn’t yet seen what his neighbor looks like. Sometimes, he just thinks that he must be a creepy-looking man. But then again, would a creepy-looking man have so much sex with different partners every night? Lucas seriously doubts it.

The passive-aggressive notes don’t stop. In fact, it happens a few times a day now. Even when they’re both right on the other side of the door waiting for the other to slide in their next angry note. Most of the time, when Lucas is sitting against the wall next to the front door, the stack of post-it notes resting on his bent knees and pen in his hand, he feels like standing on his feet and opening the door when his neighbor slides in another bright pink note, just to get a glimpse of him.

But the thrill he feels in his body from the fact that he doesn’t know what his neighbor looks like is what keeps him from doing it. That, and what if his neighbor is actually hot? What then?

He knows that his neighbor loves it too, he wouldn’t be continuing this mess if he didn’t. He loves it just as much as Lucas does, and neither of them wants to stop this game of who breaks down first.

Lucas finishes to write down his next note ( _I never thought furries were a thing in the city until I heard you fuck a sheep last night, your standards dude.)_ before he stands up and gets out of his apartment to walk the distance to his neighbor’s door and slide the note through the gap.

When he’s back into the safety of his own apartment, Lucas sits back down, waiting. It only takes a minute for him to hear his neighbor’s door open, followed by footsteps approaching and then there is a new note awaiting for him.

> _That’s rich coming from a monk._
> 
> _But I can’t blame you._
> 
> _You can’t know what people sound like_
> 
> _when they’re having sex if you get none._

> _I have a very fulfilling sex-life,_
> 
> _asshole!_

Lucas is a liar.

> _Is that so?_
> 
> _You might consider changing your_
> 
> _partner then, if they can’t make you_
> 
> _scream your brains out._

Challenge accepted.

***

Thomas is boring. 

Everything that comes out of his mouth makes Lucas wish he wasn’t sitting here and forcing himself into this situation. Honestly, he’s lucky he’s hot because that’s the only reason why Lucas agreed on this date. Well, that and the fact that he’s definitely bringing Thomas home later. And he’s going to have sex. And he’s going to _scream his brains out._

But Lucas is still bored and he really just wants to cut this date short so they can just skip to the sex part already. 

“My dad is so up my ass. He wants me to replace him as the CEO, be the good little heir he’s always dreamed of but I just want to travel and have fun, you know?” _Poor little rich boy._ “I swear… fathers are the worst.” _If only you had mine._ “Is your father like that too?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” _As if Lucas would tell him what his father really is like._

“Ugh, see! The worst.” 

Lucas suffers through another hour of Thomas complaining about how his life is sad and complicated before they split the bill and finally, _finally,_ they call a cab.

“My place?” Thomas whispers in his ear, coddling Lucas and protecting him from the cold when they stand outside, waiting for the cab. 

Lucas hates being coddled. He despises it. He always feels like that lady in the movies that every man wants to protect from everything, even the cold weather. Lucas is not the lady in the movies.

“Nope. Mine.” Because that’s the plan. It’ll never work if they don’t do it in Lucas’s apartment. He has something to prove and the rich boy isn’t going to fuck up his plan with the promise of a big, soft bed with silky sheets.

The elevator is empty when they get inside and Lucas presses the 4th floor button before he’s turning and pushing Thomas against the wall. And then, he’s all over him. Their kiss is messy and uncoordinated, Thomas tries to free himself of Lucas’s hold, he tries to change their positions so Lucas is the one up against the wall but Lucas doesn’t let him. He plants himself firmly where he stands, pushing his thigh up against Thomas’s bulge which makes the taller boy gasp into the kiss.

Lucas pulls back, breaking the kiss to meet his eyes.

“As soon as we’re behind closed doors, I want you to fuck me. Rough and fast. I want you to make me scream my fucking brains out. Understood?”

Thomas’s eyes are heavy from the desire building up inside him, pupils dilated and he’s panting and nodding his head so fast that Lucas can’t help but smile, as the doors slide open behind him.

“Good.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for another round?” 

Lucas hears someone say behind him. Weird. The voice sounds familiar and yet he can’t remember where he heard it. It’s followed by a chuckle and then a female voice says:

“I’m sorry, I’m working tonight but, I’ll call you, okay?”

Lucas steps back from Thomas and takes his hand, entwining their fingers together as they walk out of the elevator.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he sees then.

The first thing he notices is a mop of brown messy bed-hair. The second is a smile that he thought he would never see again. The third, is a pair of eyes widened in shock. _So intense. So blue. So gray. So captivating…_

Eliott.

_Eliott. Eliott. Eliott. Eliott._

The name he was never able to truly forget.

The fourth thing he notices is the girl standing before him, looking well fucked-out. 

_Oh._

All this time… All this time, the neighbor he hated and started a stupid childish game with was Eliott? Eliott, the guy that made Lucas fall in love after just one date? _Not even a real date…_ _Lucas was with Jonathan back then._ Eliott, the guy that asked for his number at the end of the date. Eliott who looked so gone for Lucas just as quickly as Lucas looked so gone for him. 

Eliott is his neighbor.

They are both frozen where they stand, unable to tear their gaze away from each other when Lucas hears someone clear their throat next to him. That’s what brings him back to reality.

Thomas.

_Fuck._

Eliott looks down at their linked hands, a frown appearing on his features before he glances up at Lucas again.

And Lucas can’t do this. He’s not prepared for this. Hell, he never will be prepared for this. This is the most fucked up situation ever. And all he wants right now is to lock himself in his apartment and never come out, because _Eliott. Is. His. Neighbor._

“Lucas?” 

He flinches at the sound of his name coming out of Eliott’s mouth and how sweet it sounds. No! _No, no, no, no._ He’s not ready. 

He fumbles to get his keys out, and with trembling hands, he unlocks his door as quickly as possible. 

“Lucas, wait!” 

But he doesn’t. Lucas grabs Thomas by the wrist and pulls him inside his apartment before he’s locking his door and stopping Eliott from reaching out.


	3. Go fuck yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys, I'm back with the 3rd part, hope it's worth the wait!
> 
> As always, it's beta-ed by the lovely @flying_elliska

An hour later, Lucas is laying in bed wide awake. Thomas is fast asleep next to him, snoring away and for that, Lucas is grateful. That way, he can have a mental breakdown without freaking out the other man.

When the door had been locked behind them, Thomas had looked at him with confusion. He still gave Lucas a minute to himself, probably sensing that he needed some time to process what was happening.

If Lucas believed in God, he would probably think it was God’s way of pulling a prank on him. Bringing Eliott back into his life in the worst way possible. And that’s when it suddenly really hit him. _Eliott is his neighbor._ The one playing dubstep loudly in the evenings and then fucking a different person just as loudly every night. Eliott is the reason why Lucas can’t sleep. Eliott is the reason why Thomas is here with him right now. And Eliott is the reason why Lucas, despite everything, still goes along with the plan to complete a fucking challenge.

So, of course, Lucas and Thomas had sex. Loud sex even, and he knows that Eliott most likely heard every creak of the bed and every exaggerated moan that Lucas let out. The sex wasn’t the best he’s had, but it was still good, and it’s only when Lucas finally came that he did realize that it was probably something he needed. To get off whilst having skin on skin contact.

Now that it’s over though, and that for once Eliott isn’t going at it next door, Lucas is frustrated with himself for not being able to shut down his brain and just enjoy the silence while it lasts and just sleep.

All he can think about is how he and Eliott first met. How much of a great time they had. How easily Lucas had thought ‘I could fall in love with you’.

***

_Flashback_.

“You’ve never watched Sense8? Really?” Eliott puts down his fork and knife and a small chuckle escapes Lucas’s lips at the incredulous look the other man gives him.

“I watched the trailer, it kind of creeped me out.”

“Oh God, Lucas, you have to watch it!” Eliott says, and it almost sounds like he’s pleading. “It’s one of my favorite shows. It kind of made me wonder what if it was me? What if we were part of something similar? Like you wake up one day, and you start to hear the rain pouring outside but when you look out the window, the sky is clear blue and the sun is shining. You don’t understand what’s happening because you still hear the rain. And then, you start seeing people, and speaking their language like it’s your own mother tongue–”

“I think it’s called schizophrenia.” Lucas interrupts him, teasing. But really, it’s fascinating to listen to Eliott speak about something he’s passionate about. Not just the show. A few minutes ago they were talking about art and the subject made Eliott pour out his heart too, explaining to Lucas what he loved so much about art and how it affected him, talking about his favorite pieces and so on. It was really fascinating. Lucas could spend a whole evening just listening to Eliott speak.

“Well, I’m already bipolar, so...” It’s said so casually. And yet, Lucas feels himself wanting for a hole to appear right under his feet and swallow him up.

“F-fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean–”

“Relax, Lucas.” Eliott chuckles, brushing it off. “It’s okay, I’m not afraid to share that part of me anymore. There’s nothing I can do but to live with it.” He shrugs and Lucas feels himself relax.

“My mom is schizophrenic.”

He doesn’t know how or why he shared that information with Eliott. It just came out of his mouth like he just needed to give him something back. And he feels kind of stupid in the moment. What if he sounds like one of these people that come up to him saying _‘Oh you’re gay? I have a gay cousin too.’_ Lucas never knows what to say to these people except _‘Good for you, and that’s relevant for me because?’_

“I mean, I’m not trying to compare what you and she have!” He’s quick to add. “It’s not even the same thing. I just–” _Oh god_ , and he was just teasing Eliott about schizophrenia, what is he going to think now?

“Lucas, it’s fine, really.” Eliott smiles kindly at him and puts a gentle hand on top of Lucas’s on the table. They both pause for a moment, both looking down at their hands. “Your mom is okay though?” He clears his throat but doesn’t pull back and Lucas is kind of happy about it. Eliott’s hand resting so casually on top of his grounds him a little.

He definitely wasn’t expecting that question, though. Which is why he sits there for a moment, blinking at the man opposite him.

“Yeah… she’s, she’s doing okay.”

“That’s the most important.” A few moments of silence before Eliott speaks up again. “I still think you should watch Sense8.”

Lucas smiles, bright and happy. “I just might.”

***

“You really own a sex shop?” Eliott laughs, his cheeks are slightly red from the wine they’ve been drinking and from how much they’ve been laughing for the past few minutes. Lucas feels his heart flutter in his chest at the sight. _God, Eliott is beautiful._

“I really do! Hey, I’m proud of my shop – Stop laughing Eliott!” But it’s contagious and Lucas starts laughing too.

They both look ridiculous right now, laughing like idiots because of a sex shop. The worst part is that they both notice how the people around them caught their conversation and some are even looking at them scandalously, like that old couple trying to share a romantic meal on the table next to theirs, and yet that’s not enough to make them stop from giggling like teenagers.

When they finally calm down, Lucas reaches for his glass of wine, taking another sip.

“I didn’t picture you working in a sex shop if I’m being honest.” Eliott tilts his head and smiles so adorably that Lucas needs to look away from him or else he’s going to end up doing something stupid. Like, get under the table to give him a blowjob.

“And what did you picture me doing then?” He asks, curious to know.

“Well...” Lucas watches as Eliott runs his fingers through the wrinkles of the tablecloth to smooth them down. “With a face like yours? Maybe a model… or I don’t know. Something that puts you in the spotlight.” Eliott shrugs and looks up at Lucas, grinning adorably once again.

_Oh, fuck you._

It’s not fair. Lucas is trying so hard to resist him. He needs to stop saying cute shit like that, and he needs to stop with that smile. And with those eyes. And with his perfect eyebrows. Sharp jawline and high cheekbones. And his wild hair that Lucas wants nothing more than to run his fingers through, just to find out if it’s as soft as it looks.

“I could never be a model.” Lucas chuckles nervously, pushing all his thoughts aside. “I don’t have the required height, far from it.”

“I still think you’re cute.”

_Stop!_

Thankfully, he’s saved by the waitress bringing them their dessert. A tiramisu for Lucas (because he’s made it his goal to try out every tiramisu in every restaurant he goes to), and a blueberry crumble for Eliott. They both dig in, and Lucas nearly chokes on his bite when he hears Eliott moan at the first taste of his dessert.

“Fuck, Lucas, you have to try this!” And then there’s a full spoon of blueberry crumble a few inches from his lips. Eliott is looking at him expectantly, eyes shining and a charming smile still on his face and Lucas wants to die. 

He really expects him to have a taste of his dessert? From the same spoon he just had in his mouth?

To make his point across, Eliott raises a perfect eyebrow, almost challenging. And that’s all it takes because Lucas is never one to back down from a challenge. His lips part the slightest bit and he inhales sharply at the first touch of the cold, silver spoon against his bottom lip. Eliott doesn’t force it into his mouth so Lucas inches forward, his eyes falling shut and he has to suppress a moan. Not from how good that blueberry crumble is, -although, that’s pretty good- but from the fact that the spoon resting on his tongue was touching Eliott’s own tongue mere seconds ago. _An indirect kiss_ , his brain supplies.

When Lucas pulls back and swallows the bite he just took, he shifts on his chair at the intensity of Eliott’s eyes on his lips. He looks hungry, starving even. And to make things worse, Eliott brings the now empty spoon to his own lips, as if he wants to have a taste of Lucas’ mouth through the silver object. He has to force himself to look away when he gets a glimpse of Eliott’s red tongue taking the same path on the spoon.

_Fuck his life._

***

“I had fun,” Eliott tells him the second they step outside.

“Me too.” Lucas smiles and turns to face the taller man. His heart thumps erratically in his chest when Eliott takes a step forward, getting impossibly closer. His eyes keep jumping from Lucas’s eyes to his lips and Lucas needs to keep reminding himself: _I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend. A shitty one, but still._

“How did you know I was expecting someone by the way? I forgot to ask you...” Eliott seems taken aback by the question at first. Well, so is Lucas. But he’s glad he asked it because Eliott’s answer is so much more than what he expected.

“I was meeting with friends in that pub over there, and I...” A blush spreads on Eliott’s cheeks. “I saw you, the second you walked into the restaurant. And, well… you’re all I could see. I figured from the way you kept checking out your phone that you were waiting for someone, but you were sitting there for long enough that I understood whoever it is, they never bothered to show up. They’re a dick but, is it bad that I’m kind of grateful they didn’t show up?” Lucas has to stop himself from admitting how glad he is too. _Fuck_. He really is, isn’t he? He’s actually happy his boyfriend never showed up to their date. What kind of asshole does that make him?

“And, huh...” Lucas’s eyes are staring pointedly at Eliott’s chest instead of his eyes. “How did you know that uhm… that I’m into guys?”

“Honestly?” Lucas nods and glances up. Eliott is looking at him with a sheepish smile. “I had no idea, I just, well… I decided to try my luck.” He’s serious? Lucas doesn’t know if he should be fascinated by Eliott’s confidence or if he should be terrified that he goes around being _that_ confident. There are homophobic people at every corner of the streets, Eliott needs to be more careful. “Can I walk you home?”

Oh, and how bad Lucas wants to say yes to that, even though it’s a thirty minutes walk to his apartment. He wants Eliott to walk him home, and he wants to ask Eliott to come in, just for a drink. But, the drink turns into flirting which would then lead to them ripping their clothes off each other and they would eventually fuck. And now Lucas is imagining a naked Eliott pounding roughly into him and – _no! Boyfriend. Remember you have a boyfriend._

“I… I’ll take a cab. Thank you, though.” Lucas swallows around the lump in his throat when Eliott’s face visibly drops. “And thank you for tonight.”

That at least brings Eliott’s smile back. Soft and shy. “No problem.”

They both share a smoke while they wait for Lucas’ taxi to show up, and when it’s finally there, Lucas thanks Eliott once again for tonight before he heads to the car waiting for him. Before he can get inside though, Lucas feels warm fingers wrap gently around his wrist and making him pause. He finds himself staring at Eliott, who is already looking down at him nervously.

“Hey, uh... Can I – fuck.” A deep breath. “Can I get your number? I would really like to see you again...”

Every atom in his body is screaming: _Yes! Yes! Yes!_

Because Lucas wants to see him again too.

But Jonathan’s face pops up once again on his brain and Lucas can’t do this to him. He’s faithful, even though he just had a kind-of-date with a stranger, and he has weird feelings for the man, he’s faithful. He hates people who cheat on their partner, he could never be that person. Which is why he can’t allow this. He can’t give his number to Eliott, he can’t let them go there and start texting each other every day in secret and plan secret dates. He just can’t.

Besides, Lucas is still holding onto the relationship he has with Jonathan. They used to be so good together. And yes, right now it might be kind of shitty between them, they don’t do things the way they used to and a certain routine started to slowly take place but, Lucas still loves him. And he doesn’t think they’re in too deep that they can’t salvage it. There’s still hope for them, he’s not going to let it all go for a stranger that he knows nothing about.

“Eliott...” Lucas can see in Eliott’s eyes before he even says the words that he knows. It’s enough to make him pause for a moment. He doesn’t want to hurt Eliott, but he doesn’t want to be that person that cheats on his boyfriend either. He places a gentle hand on top of Eliott’s, the one that is still holding desperately onto his wrist. Eliott lets go then, only to take Lucas’s hand, entwining their fingers together. That makes Lucas smile sadly. _Our hands fit together._ “In another universe... a parallel universe, there is a Lucas that doesn’t hesitate to give his number to Eliott. But, that Lucas is single… I’m sorry you had this version that isn’t available.”

Eliott opens his mouth to speak, but before he can say anything to that, Lucas places a gentle hand on the back of his head and pulls him down. The tip of his nose brushes up against Eliott’s cheekbone making him exhale a shuddering breath. “Goodbye Eliott,” Lucas whispers against his skin and presses a gentle kiss on his cheek.

He gets inside the cab and closes the door without looking back, not even once it starts to drive away. Lucas isn’t one to live with regrets, but leaving Eliott on the sidewalk that night, it’s definitely his biggest mistake.

_End of flashback._

***

Lucas wakes up and for once it isn’t to the sound of dubstep. Instead, familiar music starts echoing throughout his apartment and it’s the first words of the song that makes him blink his eyes open. Because he knows that [song](https://youtu.be/pU2NDAo69Nc). He absolutely adores the artist.

_And somehow I lost touch_  
_When you went out of sight_  
_When you got lost into the city_  
_Got lost into the night_

He rolls over to lay down on his back. Thankfully he woke up alone in bed. Thomas is gone, and well, that’s how one night stands work anyway. He’s kind of surprised that Eliott knows and actually listens to PJ Harvey, maybe his taste in music isn’t so hopeless after all.

_I was in need of help_  
_Heading to black out_  
_'Till someone told me run on in honey_  
_Before somebody blows your goddamn brains out_

A deep sigh escapes his lips. Part of him wants to get up and walk up to Eliott’s, catch up with him because it’s been so long. 18 months and he still remembers the intensity of Eliott’s eyes on him.

_You shoplifted as a child_  
_I had a model's smile_  
_You carried all my hopes_  
_Until something broke inside_

_But now we float_  
_Take life as it comes_

The other part of him though, much stronger, or probably because he’s just petty, refuses to acknowledge his neighbor. Because for the past month, he’s been living hell because of him.

_So will we die of shock?_  
_Die without a trial_  
_Die on Good Friday_  
_While holding each other tight_

And besides, their stupid game is still on, isn’t it? Just because he now knows that his annoying neighbor is none other than Eliott, it doesn’t change anything. Lucas accepted and succeeded at his challenge. He’s not a monk. He can have loud sex too.

_This is kind of about you_  
_This is kind of about me_  
_We just kind of lost our way_  
_But we were looking to be free_

***

And so can Eliott.

Lucas hasn’t left his apartment the whole weekend, and by Sunday evening, he wishes he’d gone out because Eliott definitely gives him payback. Worse than he used to. The sex next door doesn’t happen only during nighttime, that weekend. No. Eliott does it at random hours during the day too. And Lucas is even more embarrassed when on Saturday, he was on the phone with the sex-toys factory he gets delivered from, giving them a list of what they needed asap when suddenly there’s the sound of furniture scratching loudly against the floor, some banging and exaggerating moaning.

It was like that all weekend, but Lucas hasn’t said his last word.

Now it’s Monday morning, and Lucas is late. He needs to be at the shop within the next 20 minutes for the delivery and Arthur can’t open the shop himself because he has an appointment at the doctor, so really Lucas needs to leave and now.

“Ouba, sweetheart, let’s go!”

In his rush to get out, Lucas opens the door of the apartment before he remembers to put on his jacket and grab Ouba’s leash. The problem is that when he’s rushing himself like that, Lucas can’t think, which is the reason why Ouba takes the opportunity of the opened door and runs out of the apartment.

“Ouba!” He calls out, putting on his jacket in a hurry and grabbing her leash. “Ouba, come back here!” Lucas runs after her, slamming the door shut behind him only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight before him.

Ouba is shaking her tail excitedly as Eliott kneels before her, petting her head and smiling adorably down at his dog. He looks up at Lucas then, their eyes meeting and it’s like the very first time. Full of intensity. _Electric_. It leaves Lucas breathless.

“Good morning, Lucas.”

_Come on, Lucas. You can do this. Remember, he’s your annoying neighbor._

“Ouba, come here baby, we have to leave,” he calls out to his dog once more, ignoring Eliott.

This time, Ouba actually listens to him. After licking at Eliott’s fingers one last time, she turns around and trots back to Lucas, as she should. He kneels down and attaches the leash to her collar, hoping that Eliott will ignore him too.

No such luck.

“She’s adorable,” Eliott says, and – _oh he’s getting closer. Fuck no._

Lucas quickly stands on his feet and looks at Eliott with what he hopes looks like an indifferent expression.

“Listen, Elias–”

“ _Elias?_ ” 

“I’d love to chitchat with you, but I’m actually late for work, so, bye.”

And he’s gone before Eliott can add anything else. Once he’s behind the elevator’s closed doors, he allows an amused smile to stretch on his lips and looks down at Ouba, who is already looking up at him, definitely judging him.

“What?” Lucas shrugs. “It’s a strategy Manon taught me. I know his name isn’t Elias, stop judging me, missy. Besides, you’re a traitor. We don’t like Eliott. Don’t go giving him kisses like that, okay?”

Ouba looks away from him, probably done with his bullshit. He wishes he could be offended by that, but yeah, he knows he’s being dramatic too.

***

“So… Let me get this straight.” Arthur sighs, hopping up on the counter. “The guy from last year that saved your ass when your shitty ex-boyfriend ditched you on your date night – the same guy that made you all gushy inside for weeks is your neighbor? _The_ neighbor that you hate?”

“Pretty much.” Lucas nods, scanning the articles that a customer placed on the same counter that Arthur currently has his ass sat on.

“Oh, okay,” Arthur says a bit too casually for Lucas’s liking. His friend leans over, interrupting Lucas from doing his work and grabs the shop’s phone.

“What are you doing?” He looks from the very confused customer to Arthur, who is now dialing a number.

“Calling Netflix, we need to make a movie out of your chaotic life.” Lucas groans, snatching the phone from Arthur and putting it back where it was.

“Okay, it’s not funny. Seriously...” He starts scanning the rest of the articles. The poor customer must be tired of waiting, and he certainly seems uncomfortable to be witnessing their conversation.

“Shut up!” A sudden, dramatic gasp escapes Arthur’s lips and Lucas’s eyes widen in horror when his friend smacks the costumer’s shoulder, probably not even realizing he did it. “Oh my God! That’s why you were horny last time! Part of you, like the subconscious part of you, knew it was the hot guy from the date!”

“I’m so sorry, sir.” Lucas apologizes to the man in his friend’s stead and glares at Arthur before he goes back to tend to the customer. He waits until the man walks away, wishes him a good day -that goes ignored-, and as soon as the door is closed behind him, Lucas turns to Arthur with murder flashing through his eyes.

Arthur raises an unimpressed eyebrow, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Lucas may scare any stranger he gives that look to, but not his friends. His friends have known him for years and they know how Lucas really is. All bark, no bite.

 _And that is the biggest lie ever._

Arthur recalls that time Lucas punched him and broke his glasses in the process back in high school.

_Okay. He’s definitely all bark, all bite. Like a pitbull. Pitbulls are cute but don’t you dare annoy them._

“What?” Arthur finally relents when the staring contest lasts for too long.

“ _What?_ ” Lucas repeats incredulously. “Are you fucking kidding me? Not only what you said was… personal, but it was also very stupid and you literally said it in front of a customer. A customer that you hit on the shoulder!”

“Oh, come on. Sex talk in a sex shop? Yeah, so out of place.” His friend rolls his eyes. “And, okay I shouldn’t have hit him, but I didn’t even realize I did it.”

Figures. Lucas already knew that.

“And what you said is really the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever heard. Coming from Basile it wouldn’t be a surprise, but you Arthur?” There’s a middle finger shoved right in front of his face that Lucas slaps away. “I don’t want to talk about him.” Once again, Arthur raises an unimpressed eyebrow and Lucas frowns. “Look, I admit that yes, last year I thought he was an angel thrown right into my lap to save me from my crappy night and crappy boyfriend, but back then, I was way too fragile. I would have gone soft for anyone that would have done the same thing. And now that I really think about it, it was stupid. What he did, I mean. Who the fuck does that? Who shows up out of nowhere and joins a stranger at their table because they’ve been staring at said stranger for a whole hour and realized the person they were waiting for isn’t showing up, which by the way is creepy, the whole staring thing... and for what? And who says it wasn’t a bet in the first place, huh? He told me he was with friends before coming up to me. Maybe all of them noticed how pitiful I looked and decided it would be funny to mess up with poor little me and so they made a stupid bet, huh? I know nothing about him, Arthur! All I know now is what I’ve witnessed for the past month. He’s an ass, with no respect for people. He doesn’t care about fucking someone loudly next door and he doesn’t care about playing stupid loud dubstep that makes my ears bleed!”

Arthur’s eyebrows are nearly touching his hairline now and he blinks at Lucas who is panting and trying to catch his breath. His whole breakdown left him quite breathless.

“Feel better?”

Not really. But, he does feel like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. When he finally catches his breath, Lucas clears his throat before he turns back to what he has been doing before the customer came up with the articles.

His laptop is still opened on a page of brand new sex toys that are up for sale. Basically, Lucas is looking for new things to sell because that’s how it works, they need to find new toys every once in a while. How does he decide on that? Well, either the new toys have already been tested and got good reviews on them. Or if he’s curious, he often ends up getting one for himself to try before he decides on placing the order or not. Arthur likes to try them too. Usually, they go through the catalog together, but this time his friend is looking at the back of Lucas’s head instead of doing as he always does and looking down at the screen over his shoulder. And Lucas, well, he decides to ignore him.

***

It’s blissfully silent next door. Lucas almost feels like he got the wrong apartment when he walks in and he’s greeted by silence. It stays silent as he feeds his dog, it stays silent when he cooks for himself and still when he starts to eat. It’s like heaven and he even allows himself to take a long, relaxing bath (he deserves it) before he slides beneath his soft bedsheets and he’s falling asleep within seconds.

It was too good to be true when, suddenly, music starts blaring loudly next door and Lucas jolts from his bed when people cheer. It’s well past three in the morning when it happens and when his heart finally stops hammering rapidly in his chest from being scared out of his sleep, Lucas’s anger flares up instantly.

He’s not really thinking about his actions, he’s just done. 

_Done, done, done!_

Next thing he knows, he’s banging his fist loudly on his neighbor’s door and he doesn’t stop until it swings open to reveal a sweaty, disheveled Eliott. Lucas notices the many bodies dancing behind him. Some in an almost nude state, missing a few items of clothes. Eliott’s eyes land on Lucas, he seems shocked to see him at first, but his expression soon turns into a pleased one. That’s before Eliott trails his eyes down Lucas’s body and a smirk tugs on his lips. Lucas glares at his neighbor, but when Eliott keeps staring at his crotch, completely oblivious of Lucas’s foul mood, he looks down at himself only to realize that he just came here to knock on Eliott’s door dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers.

 _Dumbass_.

“Hi, Lucas.” Eliott slowly trails his eyes back up in a sultry way until he meets Lucas’s murderous stare once again. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“It’s three in the fucking morning!”

Eliott smiles and Lucas itches to punch him. “I have a clock. But thank you, although you didn’t have to come up here just to tell me what time it is. Is it an excuse to come to the party?”

Lucas is this close of strangling him. He has to clench his fists tightly, his nails biting on the skin of his palms to help him control himself.

“Do you want to come in?” Eliott adds, opening the door a bit wider at that.

“Fuck off! I want to sleep! Get them the fuck out of here!”

“Oh,” Eliott chuckles, making it sound pure and innocent. “I’m so sorry, I forgot it was a weekday. You’re working tomorrow?”

“Unlike some, apparently,” Lucas mutters angrily under his breath.

“What was that?” He grins, but Lucas knows he definitely caught what he said.

Lucas throws him one last glare. “Get them out. Now,” He snarls through his teeth before he turns his back on Eliott and makes his way back to his own apartment.

“Goodnight, Lucas!” Lucas flips him off without looking back. “Oh, by the way, nice butt!”

His front door is slammed shut as soon as Eliott yelled the last sentence. His face is burning and when he gets under the covers once again, his frustrated scream is muffled by his pillow.

_God, I hate him!_

***

For the next two weeks, war is declared between the two.

When Eliott starts impromptu parties in the middle of the night, Lucas reciprocates by being extra loud on a Sunday morning, deciding it was the best time to redecorate his apartment. 

_Oh, the sweet sound of the hammer._

When Lucas brings in a one night stand, Eliott has an orgy next door.

If Eliott plays dubstep, Lucas will turn up hardcore rock’n’roll.

Then, they start to become bolder.

One evening, when Lucas is getting hot and heavy on his couch with another nightstand, _Danny? Donovan?_ he’s about to bring the man to his bed when there’s a loud knocking on his door. He doesn’t even bother fixing his ruffled clothes and hair and goes to open his door only to find a smiling Eliott on the other side.

“Hey, Lulu.” _Lulu?_ “Here,” Eliott throws a small rectangular box at him that Lucas catches just in time. Before he can even check what it is though, Eliott is speaking again, loudly. “I bought you that hemorrhoids cream you asked me about. Trust me, this one is going to work.”

Lucas freezes, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. Daniel is out of his apartment so fast and gone before Lucas could even sputter out an explanation. Eliott watches Damien go with a smirk before he turns to Lucas, winks and goes back to his own apartment, leaving an angry but still very shocked Lucas on his doorstep.

_Fucker!_

But Lucas isn’t giving up.

After all this time, Lucas knows Eliott’s schedule when it comes to one night stands. And it’s even easier now to know when it’s going to happen because the buzzer of the building’s front door is broken. Which means that now they have to go all the way down to open the door to people. Which also means that when Lucas hears Eliott’s door open and close early in the night on a weekday, he knows that his neighbor is going to reappear within the minute with someone.

Today is no different. Except that today, Lucas is getting revenge.

When he hears Eliott’s door open, he glances at the time. 10:37pm. _Perfect_. He’s already wearing only a pair of boxers, that way he won’t lose much time.

He waits until he hears the elevator’s doors close before he rushes out of his apartment. Eliott is an idiot for leaving his door unlocked, but is that really surprising? It makes it way too easy for Lucas, who steps inside his neighbor’s apartment.

He feels uneasy for walking in uninvited when Eliott isn’t even here. He also notices how clean and pleasing his apartment looks, with paintings and green plants decorating the living room. That’s the only room Lucas allows himself to walk into. Although he’s curious about the bedr— _NO. Lucas. No._

Eliott doesn’t make him wait long. In fact, Lucas hears the door being opened soon after he stepped into the living room. He looks away from the paintings as he hears Eliott ask his new conquest what they want to drink. It’s followed by a feminine voice saying that she’s fine.

Lucas has to suppress a smirk when Eliott walks into the living room only to stop dead in his tracks when his eyes land on Lucas’s figure.

“Hi, babe.” Lucas grins brightly and walks up to Eliott, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him down to plant a kiss on his cheek. He has to ignore the way his lips tingle for more or the way Eliott gasps at that simple innocent kiss. The girl Eliott brought home walks in just as Lucas pulls back. He glances towards the brunette and frowns. “Wait. Who is she?”

The girl is now glaring at Eliott, face red and mortified. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” She yells and that’s what makes the taller man look away from Lucas and towards the brunette, as if just now remembering that he was in fact about to take her to bed. “You’re an asshole!”

That’s all she says before she storms out of the apartment.

Lucas smiles triumphantly, looking up at Eliott who already has his eyes on him. “Charming.” He nods, fakely impressed, winks and then he follows the path the brunette just took. “Well, that was fun, Elias. See you!”

***

Four days go by until he next sees Eliott. And, in the worst way possible. Lucas had been busy all morning, taking Ouba to a pet groomer and leaving Arthur alone to tend to the shop. It was Friday, but they never had too many customers in the morning so Lucas didn’t feel bad about leaving his friend alone. Although, now that he thinks about it, on the days that it does get busy, they get so overloaded with work that they can barely breathe.

He’s nearing the shop, pondering the idea of talking to Arthur about how they really should consider hiring new people to help them, and when he finally walks in, already kneeling down to let Ouba out of her leash, he freezes at the sound of Eliott’s laugh. His head snaps up so fast that he’s pretty sure he just heard the bones cracking.

“I swear!” Arthur says between chuckles. He’s sitting on the counter, facing Eliott with his feet dangling back and forth. “You should have seen it, it was hilarious!”

“Oh, I believe you on that!” Eliott bursts out laughing again. “Too bad I wasn’t there.”

_What the fuck is this shit?_

Lucas is mortified. He still hasn’t moved from his kneeling spot and he can’t – he just can’t believe what his eyes are looking at. Part of him is begging his legs to start working and run, take him far away from whatever dimension he just walked into. Because there’s absolutely no fucking way that one of his best friends is currently laughing and talking to his worst enemy like they’re the best buds in the whole world.

Another part of him wants to run because _how the fuck did Eliott find the place I work at???_

Has he been following Lucas? And – yeah, okay. It could also be a coincidence, there are thousands of sex shops in Paris. But he also recalls telling Eliott what he did for a living back when they had their date, so maybe he hasn’t forgotten about that detail. Then again, would he just go through all the sex shops in the city just to find the one where Lucas works at? Doubtful.

“Oh, Lucas!” Arthur grins when he spots him, still crouched down by a very restless Ouba. “You’re, back! Come here, let me introduce you.”

Eliott turns around and – fuck, the bastard looks smug as hell. Lucas’s face instantly hardens when their eyes meet before he focuses back on the task of taking the leash off his dog. As soon as she’s free, Ouba rushes into the shop and Lucas nearly scolds her for jumping excitedly on Eliott’s leg. It’s crazy how that simple, excited greeting from his dog made Eliott’s smug face dissolve into a fond, almost giddy one.

“Hey, beautiful!”

Lucas walks up to them and picks up Ouba before Eliott can even think of kneeling down to pet her. Their eyes meet and Eliott is back to looking smug which makes Lucas’s anger flare up like a light switch, as it does every time they’re around each other.

“Huh… so, Lucas, this is Eliott. Eliott, Lucas.”

Arthur makes the introductions, gesturing between the two. If only he knew that it was pointless.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Lucas asks, never taking his eyes away from the taller man. “Are you following me now?”

Eliott scoffs at that. “Please, Lulu. Don’t you think you’re being too over-dramatic? My world doesn’t revolve around you.”

And why does it hurt? It shouldn’t hurt, and yet Lucas still feels a knife twist right through his heart. Because the truth is, _his_ world mostly revolves around Eliott now, ever since they started their stupid game. He’s constantly thinking of what he should do next to piss off his neighbor. Get his attention. Lucas quickly pushes the weird feelings away, focusing on the nickname instead.

“Don’t call me _Lulu_.”

“What do you want me to call you then?” Eliott takes a step closer, which in turn makes Lucas take a step back and hold Ouba tighter in his arms as a form of protection.

“Wait.” Arthur cuts in, after having heard enough of their short conversation to connect the dots. “You two know each other?”

“I’d almost say we know each other _intimately_.” Eliott grins, never taking his eyes off of Lucas and raises his eyebrows in a provocative way.

Lucas might consider calling to prepare his funeral. Or Eliott’s. He’s not sure which one yet. Probably his own. Because if Eliott keeps talking like that, he might die, sooner or later.

 _Intimately_. 

Yeah, Lucas can still hear the echoes of Eliott’s moans in his brain.

“Anyway, I’m not here for you. I didn’t even know that you worked here.” Lucas narrows his eyes suspiciously, not sure if he should believe it. “Nice shop, by the way. I didn’t expect that.”

Yeah, people often think that sex shops are creepy. Arthur and Lucas wanted to break the clichés. They wanted people to feel comfortable to be walking into their shop, and not look left and right to make sure nobody saw them stepping inside a place that is still so taboo to most. They started by renting a place in a nice street. From the outside, no one could guess it was a sex shop unless you looked deeper for the signs like the ‘ _erotic shop_ ’ written under their logo on the window. They didn’t want the name displayed outside in big flashing lights and even the name was subtle, thanks to Daphné’s help. She’s the one that came up with it; _Infiltration_.

“Why are you here then?” Lucas asks, straight to the point.

“I came here for Arthur.”

He glances at his friend who is staring at the two of them suspiciously before he looks up at Eliott again.

“And how do you know Arthur?”

“I don’t really owe you an explanation, _Lulu_ , uh… Lucas. But if you really want to know, Arthur and I are friends. Met through Lucas.”

“VDH.” Arthur provides from where he’s sitting.

“You’re friends with VDH?” _How?_

“Hm-mhm.” And that’s all Eliott says before he takes another step closer. “Always a pleasure seeing you, Lucas.” He can clearly see Eliott’s gaze trail down to his lips and stay there for a long moment. A list of insults rushes through his brain but unfortunately, Lucas finds himself unable to say or even do anything. He can’t even move. It’s like Eliott is pinning him right where he stands with his eyes alone. When their eyes meet again, Eliott smiles before he takes a step back and turns to Arthur. “See you tonight.”

“Yeah, see you later dude.” Arthur waves goodbye.

And just like that, he’s leaving and Lucas still hasn’t moved from his spot.

“Well… I must say, that was interesting.”

Lucas snaps out of his trance-like state and looks at Arthur before the conversation he just had with Eliott comes rushing back through his brain and makes him furrow his eyebrows.

“You know who that is?!” He gestures towards the door Eliott just walked out of. 

Ouba wriggles in his arms, demanding to be put down and Lucas does, watching her run off to play with one of her toys.

“Huh, yeah. He just told you, we’re frie–”

“He’s my neighbor, Arthur!”

“Oh?”

His friend’s face goes through an unbelievable amount of expressions. From stupor to confusion to delight, uncertainty, perplexity, fascination and finally thrill.

“ _Oh!_ ” Arthur hops out of the counter and rushes to Lucas. There’s a big, stupid smile on his face and he grabs Lucas’s shoulders so hard, he’s pretty sure he’ll have bruises. “Oh my fucking God, Lucas! This is so fucking good!”

Before Lucas can even repeat the words he just said because surely Arthur didn’t hear him right. He wouldn’t be this happy if he had really understood his words, _right_? Arthur smacks his shoulder and lets out a little squeal of delight.

“Shit, I really need to call Netflix!”

“Okay, seriously fuck off with that, Arthur.” Lucas brushes past his friend and makes his way to the front desk, rubbing his aching shoulder on the way. “You hurt me, asshole.”

“Guys, you will never guess what just happened!”

_Huh?_

Lucas turns around to look at Arthur. Not only is his friend ignoring him, but he seems to apparently be on a call right now. Rude.

_“VDH sent you a nude?”_

Wait. Is that – _YANN?_

“I wish. No, but seriously!” Arthur fans himself dramatically.

_“You sent VDH a nude?”_

And Basile. Arthur is on a call with Yann and Basile.

“Shut up! Let me finish!” Arthur glances at Lucas and honest to god burst out laughing, making Lucas’s cheeks turn red and warm from embarrassment.

“Fuck you!” Lucas flips him off.

 _“Is that Lucas?”_ Basile asks.

_“Come on, Arthur just tell us!”_

“Okay, okay!” Arthur wipes a non-existent tear. “So, you know Eliott?”

 _“Yeah, the guy we planned to set up Lucas with? What about him?”_ Lucas hears Yann say.

Wait. What now?

“What was that?!” 

Did they think he was desperate enough to be set up with someone? With Eliott of all people!

“Yeah, so Eliott–” Arthur continues as if Lucas hadn’t even just talked. _They’re so mean. Why is he friends with them?_ “He came in today – into the shop while Lucas was away, busy taking Ouba to the pet groomer – Anyway, we were talking about tonight’s party we have planned with VDH and other stuff when suddenly, Lucas walks in.”

 _“No!”_ Basile gasps. _“Was it love at first sight then?”_

 _“Did he trip and fall on his ass?”_ Fuck off, Yann.

“Guys, Eliott is Lucas's neighbor!” Arthur, once again, can’t hold in his laughter.

On the other end of the line there’s a pause, Lucas prays and hopes that – 

_“No way, dude!”_

_“Are you joking? Oh my God!”_

_“So the guy he hates is–”_

The three of them are now laughing and Lucas hates his friends. 

That’s it. It’s time for him to start looking for new people to hang out with.

***

The problem is that, now that they know Eliott is the famous neighbor, it has become harder and harder to complain about him to his friends. Mostly because now, whenever Lucas tells them what Eliott did the previous night, they all laugh at the situation. Lucas feels like he’s being left out on the joke. He doesn’t understand what’s even funny about the whole thing. It’s not because they’re friends with a guy he hates that they have to cheer and laugh about what Eliott does to annoy him. 

They were _his_ friends first. They’re supposed to be on his side!

“To me, this is just some weird hardcore foreplay you two are doing.” Lucas nearly chokes on his beer, but the almost murder attempt Yann inflicted on him isn’t enough to stop him from saying more. “You two are being ridiculous at this point, seriously. Just rip off your clothes like you’re dying to do, bang each other madly and be done with it.” Basile nods his head in agreement from where he’s sitting next to his best friend. “I swear you two are imposs–”

“Eliott!” Arthur suddenly shouts, interrupting Yann’s stupid reasoning and making Lucas’s blood turn cold in an instant.

Soon enough, Lucas notices Eliott, who just walked into the bar they decided to spend the evening at. Lucas hates to admit it but Eliott actually looks good. He’s wearing a pair of black trousers, rolled up at the ankles. A leopard print shirt that no one would dare to put on nowadays because – _seriously, leopard print? Ugly._ But Eliott actually makes it look good. It must be the amount of skin he’s showing too since he has the first few buttons opened. A long dark brown coat completes the whole look and Lucas hates himself for allowing his gaze to linger a bit too long on his neighbor. He’s going to blame the lingering stare on the fact that Eliott seems to be a bit too dressed up for a bar compared to everyone else. Especially compared to him. Lucas is dressed in a simple pair of jeans, a white shirt with the word ‘hero’ on his chest and because he couldn’t be bothered with his hair this morning, he’s also wearing a backward white cap. Add the three days scruff on his face and he almost looks homeless compared to Eliott.

Eliott’s eyes find Arthur’s and a grin spreads on his face. He starts to walk up to their table but his steps falter when his eyes land on Lucas. He hopes that now that Eliott saw him, he won’t come over because things might turn out awkward if he joins them. And well – Eliott standing there, stupidly gaping at Lucas isn’t making things any less awkward. He’s staring at him with so much intensity that it makes Lucas squirm on his chair and break the eye-contact. His eyes find Yann’s who is already looking at Lucas smugly, knowing-smile plastered on his face.

“Hey, want to join us?” Arthur asks once Eliott walks up the rest of the way to them.

“Well, I’m here to meet my friends but they’re not here yet so yeah, I can join you for now.” Eliott grins and walks around the table to take the empty chair right next to Lucas.

_Yeah, you couldn’t just take the chair that was right in front of you. You had to sit next to me and annoy the fuck out of me with your close proximity._

He doesn’t miss the way his friends smirk at Eliott’s bold action.

“Couldn’t you take the other chair?” Lucas girts out through his teeth.

“Good evening to you too, sweetheart.” _Sweetheart_. Before Lucas knows what’s happening, Eliott is leaning closer to him and saying into his ear, “You look great.”

He looks what now?

Lucas wishes his brain didn’t momentarily shut down on him, because surely Eliott must be mocking him for his choice of outfit. _Well, we don’t all have hours to get ready._ Lucas was late this morning, he didn’t have the time to dress up good or even shave. Besides, who even dresses up like they’re going to walk down a runway just to go to a bar? No one. No one does that! But, apparently, Eliott isn’t like the rest of the population.

“Stop breathing down on me.” Lucas snaps and places his hand on Eliott’s chest to push him back. Eliott glances down at where Lucas’s hand is splayed right on the revealed skin of his chest and Lucas follows his gaze. He pulls his hand back quickly before he turns back to his beer, swallowing down half of it in big gulps.

“You look so good, Eliott!” Basile says out of nowhere. “Where can I find myself the same clothes? OH – Maybe you could help me! I should definitely change my style! Dress more like you! We should go shopping together, what do you say?!”

“He does look great,” Yann says before Eliott can answer to Basile’s ridiculous request.

“Hm-mm, agreed. What do you think Lucas?”

Lucas’s eyes snap up to glare at Arthur who is grinning innocently at him. “I think he looks stupid and out of place. No one dresses like that just to go to a bar.” He shrugs nonchalantly and swallows down the rest of his beer.

Eliott chuckles next to him making it sound like Lucas just shared a joke with the whole table instead of insulting him. Lucas can’t have that, he needs to make sure that Eliott knows he wasn’t trying to be funny.

He turns to look at Eliott, unimpressed. “What are you laughing at? I’m being serious. Besides, leopard print? Seriously?”

“You’re being very judgmental for someone wearing those nikes.” Eliott looks down at said nikes on Lucas’s feet before he meets his eyes again.

The whole table goes ‘ _oooh_ ’ and Lucas really hates his friends.

“And you’re being an asshole, but hey, nothing new here.”

“You were an asshole first.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You’re excused.”

“Fuck off!” Lucas’s blood is burning through his veins now. It’s crazy how fast he gets worked up when it comes to Eliott. “You were the one that started with the loud ugly music if you can even call it that–”

“I wasn’t going to go that far back but–”

“And you also fuck people with no regard for the terrible noises you make!”

“Really now?” Eliott glares, both murdering the other with their eyes. “As if you don’t do the fucking same!” 

“Ugh!” Lucas clenches his jaw, nails biting the skin of his palms. “You fucking st–”

“Uhm… Hi?” The whole table turns in sync to look towards the person that just interrupted their fight. Two tall men stand there, looking at Eliott in confusion. “We were looking for you.”

“Oh,” Eliott nods. “Uhm, guys these are my friends, Sofiane and Idriss. And this is Arthur, Basile, Yann and–” Eliott gestures at everyone on the table as he makes the introductions and stops when it’s Lucas’s turn. “this lovely man here, is Lucas, you know… _the_ Lucas.”

_What is that supposed to mean? THE Lucas? What did he tell his friends about?_

Lucas doesn’t have the time to ask about it, because Basile is speaking up before anyone at the table can even blink.

“You guys should join us! The more the merrier, right?”

And that’s how they all find themselves squeezed at the same table and Lucas has to spend the whole time sitting next to Eliott. He tries to ignore his presence the best he can but, Eliott doesn’t make it easy on him. He keeps brushing their arms together or pressing his knee against Lucas’s thigh. He makes the touches light and subtle but it still lights Lucas on fire every time. Sparks running down his spine and making the hair on his body stand on end. Every time it happens, Lucas loses a battle with himself. Struggling with either wanting to put more distance between them or reciprocating the touches because he needs more.

He can’t stand it, and after a few more minutes of Eliott brushing up against him, Lucas is suddenly standing on his feet, claiming that he needs to use the bathroom. He doesn’t though, it’s just an excuse to put some distance between him and Eliott and to give his hammering heart a break. It was either putting some distance between them or punch Eliott in the face. Or worse, _rip Eliott’s clothes off and suck his dick right there. In front of everyone._

Instead of going to the bathroom, Lucas heads up straight to the bar, asking for another beer.

“I’ll pay for that.” A deep voice says to his right and money is being handed to the bartender. Lucas turns to look at the person that just offered to pay for his drink.

A brunette stands there, already turned to face Lucas and leaning sideways against the bar. A smirk tugs on his lips when Lucas raises his eyebrows curiously at him. _He’s cute._

“Hi,” the man smiles brightly, showing all of his perfect white teeth. “I’m Sam.”

“Lucas.” Beer is being placed in front of him and Lucas grabs it before he raises it in acknowledgment at Sam. “Thanks for the beer.”

“Anything for the prettiest guy at this bar.”

 _Huh_.

The guy went for a cheesy line, but Lucas is impressed with his bold move. After all, he would never try hitting up on a random guy in a simple bar. A gay bar, definitely but not this one. Sam is definitely not scared. Lucas could be homophobic and give him hell for that and he wouldn’t even know what’s coming for him.

“What makes you think I’m gay?” Lucas is genuinely curious. Nothing about him screams ‘I like dick’. At least, he doesn’t think so.

Sam takes a step closer, a playful smile stretching on his lips as he moves his hand closer to Lucas’s own hand on the bar. The tip of their fingers brush together before Sam finally speaks up, shrugging slightly.

“Call it intuition.” Lucas chuckles at that. “I’m rarely wrong about these things, got a pretty good gaydar.” _Clearly_. “So? Was I wrong then?” Sam tilts his head slightly.

“Keep trusting your gaydar.” Is all Lucas says before he takes a sip of his beer.

After they both finish their drinks, they find themselves on the dance-floor part of the bar. Bodies moving together through the beat of the songs playing and lips colliding hastily. It’s a good way to pass time, Lucas reckons. He loves kissing, it doesn’t necessarily need to have an intention behind it. Except, even though he doesn’t want to admit it to himself, he’s kind of kissing Sam with an intent.

When they pull apart, Lucas’s eyes immediately start searching for Eliott. He hopes that his neighbor is watching him. He hopes… He hopes to see Eliott looking back at him and to see jealousy flashing in his eyes.

But when he finds Eliott, still sitting at their table, he’s disappointed to see that his neighbor isn’t even paying attention to him. Eliott is looking down at his phone, his fingers typing rapidly on the screen.

Lucas frowns but quickly pushes the bitter feeling aside, giving his whole attention back to the man pressed up against him.

A few minutes later, Sam pulls back from yet another kiss and quickly reaches for his phone in his pocket. He reads a text and his face changes instantly to worry before he glances up at Lucas.

“Fuck. I’m really sorry, but I have to go. Something came up, but huh… do you mind giving me your number? Maybe we could meet up again soon?”

“Oh, sure. Don’t worry.” Lucas nods and takes Sam’s phone, dialing his number and saving it before he hands it back to the man. “I hope you’re going to be fine.”

Sam smiles softly and runs his fingers through Lucas’s hair. “See you around, Lucas.”

And with that, Sam is gone. Lucas watches him leave before he lets out an audible sigh and walks back towards the table where he was previously sat with all his friends. Everyone is still there, except Eliott. Yann gives him a look that Lucas is all too familiar with, it’s a look he’s been on the receiving end of for many years now. It means: We’ll talk about this later when we are alone and there is no prying ears around.

“Where’s Eliott?”

_Oh Lucas, you fucking idiot._

He only realizes what he just asked when the words are out of his mouth. Damn him. He needs to start thinking before he speaks. A blush spreads on his face when everyone at the table glances at him curiously. Some even smugly.

“Over there.” Idriss, Eliott’s best friend, points in the direction Eliott is and Lucas follows everyone’s gaze.

He finds Eliott pretty quickly. What he did not expect though, was to see Eliott walk out of the bathroom with his arm thrown around the shoulders of a tall, pretty brunette. _She’s beautiful. They actually look gorgeous together. Wait. Did Eliott just have sex in a bathroom? A public bathroom?!_ He looks blissed-out. With his hair messy, the way it is when he walks his partners out the door once he’s done with them. They’re both laughing and the girl cups his face with her hand and pulls him down before she plants a kiss on his cheek. Lucas knows that something is going on there, he can see it, it’s pretty clear. She’s not just another one night stand. She must be important, from the way Eliott is looking at her and seems so at ease.

They both make their way towards the table, and Lucas is quick to look away from them, grabbing his phone and scrolling through it in an attempt to make himself look busy. 

_He doesn’t care. Why should he care? He hates Eliott._

“Hey, Lucille. Want to join us?” Lucas hears Idriss ask.

 _Lucille_.

“Sure thing!” _Oh great. She’s joining them._ “Hi. You must be Lucas, right?”

Lucas glances up from his phone, not having expected to be talked to. Lucille is looking down at him with a beautiful smile and sparkling eyes, and he hates her. He doesn’t want to stay here. He doesn’t want to see his neighbor being all charming smiles and casual touches with this girl.

“Yeah, that’s me.” He forces a smile on his face before he stands on his feet, grabbing his jacket. “Huh, well… you can take my seat. I’m leaving anyway.”

“Already?!” Basile whines.

“Yeah, I’m exhausted. I’ll text you guys.” Lucas tells his best friends and puts on his jacket as he avoids meeting Yann’s eyes. “See ya.” He tells them with a wave before he starts to walk out of the bar.

He hasn’t even made three steps out the door that he feels a hand tug at his arm, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

“Wait,” Lucas looks up at Eliott who is staring at him expectantly. “I’ll walk you home.”

_This must be a joke._

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lucas snarls, letting out all the anger that has built up inside him all evening now that he’s alone with Eliott. “I’m not a fucking damsel in distress! Go back to your date.”

“My date?” Eliott’s eyebrows furrow. “You mean Lucille?”

Lucas turns his back on him, ignoring Eliott completely as he starts to walk again. He hopes that his fast pace will be enough to distance himself quickly from the other man but, Eliott and his giraffe legs catch up with Lucas easily.

“Stop following me!”

“I live this way too.” Eliott chuckles.

_Fuck. He’s so annoying._

For a moment, Lucas allows Eliott’s presence next to him. They do live in the same building, after all. As long as Eliott doesn’t speak to him, it’s all good. Lucas can see from the corner of his eye that Eliott is busy on his phone now. Probably texting Lucille, he thinks bitterly. Why didn’t he stay with her anyway? Why is he going home so soon? Is it to annoy Lucas again? Because, well, it’s definitely working.

But then, Eliott pats Lucas’s shoulder to get his attention and turns the screen of his phone towards the smaller brunette.

“What do you think?”

Lucas blinks down at the screen of Eliott’s phone. It’s opened on a picture of a blonde girl. He recognizes the app instantly.

 _Tinder_.

“She has a vagina. What am I supposed to think?” Lucas deadpans, looking away from the picture and back in front of him. The streets are nearly empty at this hour of the night, it’s almost peaceful. Lucas can’t wait to get home.

“Mmh. Okay… what about him then?” When Lucas gives it a mere glance and says nothing, Eliott keeps swiping his thumb on the screen of his phone. “This one then?”

“Dude. Seriously, I don’t give a fuck.” Lucas sighs, growing more and more annoyed with each passing second.

“But I need your help, I have to find someone to hook up with tonight! I have too much tension inside me right now. Need to relax.”

Lucas is pretty sure the look he gives Eliott could be murderous if only he could kill people with his eyes. He wants to open his mouth and insult him; be mean, tell Eliott that he can go fuck himself because they’re not friends. Lucas would never help him find a hookup plan and – _he needs to back off, why is Eliott standing so close to him?_ But Lucas decides that ignorance is the best way to hurt someone so he keeps his mouth shut and starts walking again.

“Are you jealous?” He hears Eliott call out from behind him before he catches up once again.

Okay. That’s it. The whole ‘ignorance is the best way to hurt someone’ plan doesn’t even last ten seconds as it goes flying right out the window.

“Jealous?!” Lucas snorts. “Fuck off. I’m not jealous!”

“Well… You clearly sound like you are.” Eliott shrugs, a smirk stretching on his lips.

“Why the fuck would I be jealous, dude?”

“I don’t know. You tell me. Why are you jealous, Lucas?”

“I just told you!” Lucas snaps, his voice rising. “I’m not fucking jealous!”

Thank God they’re not far from their building now, because Lucas’s rage keeps growing inside him and he’s certain that if Eliott keeps pushing like that, he’ll end up with Lucas’s fist on his face.

“If you say so,” Eliott eventually says. “But, just so you know, you have nothing to be jealous about.”

Lucas wants to ask why, but for once, he’s able to stop himself from opening his mouth before he can think better on it. His apartment is so close and soon enough he won’t have to deal with his neighbor. At least, not have him so close physically.

“You want to know why?”

“No.” Lucas lies, opening the door of their building before he rushes to the elevator.

“Well, I’ll tell you anyway.” Eliott grins, joining him inside the small cabin.

The space is so small that even though it’s just the two of them, Lucas still feels crowded. Eliott takes a step forward, and even though there are still a few inches separating them, Lucas feels the warmth of the taller man’s body enveloping him.

“What are you doing?” Lucas has to tilt his head back to frown up at Eliott.

All amusement is gone from the other’s face. He looks so earnest now, meeting Lucas’s eyes.

“I can’t get you out of my head.”

Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting that. These words… they leave him completely dumbfounded. Unable to react, to move or even breathe.

It’s the elevator’s doors opening that brings him back to reality. Lucas’s eyes snap to the opened door before they move back to Eliott, who is still staring at him, eyes so intense, almost daring.

And isn’t that the whole vibe between them? The games, the dares. It’s what makes the whole thing so thrilling. And it’s also the reason why Lucas pushes everything else aside, falling into the trap and letting himself be consumed by it.

He’s pushing Eliott out of the elevator, making the taller man walk backward until his back hits against the closest door, _Eliott’s door._

“I want to have sex and you’re looking for someone to fuck. This is your chance, but this is a one-time thing. Understood?”

Eliott blinks down at him in confusion, the words taking some time to register. When they do though, Lucas has to restrain a smile at Eliott’s gaping expression and wide eyes.

“Well, then, Eliott. Are you going to open the door or are we going to stare into each other’s eyes?”

“I thought – I mean… yes. _Yes!_ ” Eliott swallows and quickly reaches for his keys as he turns around to open his door with shaking hands.

When they get inside, Lucas steps in first, already taking off his cap and placing it on the nearest surface. The door is slammed shut behind him and Lucas turns around to face Eliott. Weirdly enough, the other man looks shy now and Lucas can’t have that. He needs the confident Eliott, not this shy, unmoving version of his neighbor.

Which is why he decides to take the matter into his own hands by starting to strip himself off his clothes. His jacket and t-shirt and both thrown carelessly on the floor and when he starts to unbutton his jeans and pull them down his legs, he glances up at Eliott who still hasn’t moved but is now devouring Lucas with his eyes.

“You know, usually sex happens without clothes.” Lucas steps out of his jeans and breaks the distance between them. Once he’s close to Eliott, he glances up into his steel-blue eyes and smirks. “Where’s the confident Eliott now, hm? The Eliott that makes his partners scream so loud that I can barely sleep.” He gently places his hands against Eliott’s chest and he can feel his heart pounding beneath his fingers as well as the sudden audible intake of breath. “Aren’t you going to show me?” Lucas’s voice shifts into something more sultry as he keeps looking up at the man through his lashes. “Aren’t you going to make me scream like them?” He lets his fingers trail down Eliott’s shirt and grabs the fabric tightly before he pulls with a quick motion, ripping off his neighbor’s shirt.

Then it’s all smooth, white skin. 

“I liked that shirt...” Eliott pouts, making Lucas chuckle lowly.

“I’ll buy you another one.”

Lucas watches with fascination as an angry red mark is drawn when he runs his nail down from Eliott’s collarbone to his pec. His nail catches Eliott’s nipple and a broken moan echoes above him.

“Fuck…” Eliott’s legs tremble and before they give out, Lucas is once again pushing his neighbor up against the wall.

“You like it?”

Lucas doesn’t wait for an answer from Eliott who now has his head tilted back, lips parted and eyes closed. He flicks his tongue slowly over the nipple he just mistreated, his fingers gripping at Eliott’s hips tightly to keep him up on his feet.

Eliott whimpers and Lucas feels empowered at that moment. He loves it, having someone completely pliant in his hands. Now, he’s had many sexual encounters but none were like this. _This_ , with Eliott, it’s completely different. Because a part of him, the angry part of him, wants to strangle Eliott to death but on the other hand, Lucas also wants to get down on his knees, worship his cock and swallow up everything Eliott would shoot down in his throat.

He pulls back, trying to get the other’s attention. “Eliott,” his neighbor opens his eyes, his head lolling slowly to the side to meet Lucas’s gaze. “Can I suck your dick?”

“Fuck!” Eliott squeezes his eyes shut and lets his head thump back against the wall. “Yes! Lucas, yes!”

That’s all the affirmation Lucas needs to reach out and swiftly open Eliott’s jeans with quick movements. He doesn’t waste time, pulling both his jeans and boxers down his thighs as he gets himself on his knees before the other man.

Eliott's cock springs free, rock-hard and wet at the tip, making Lucas’s mouth water at the sight. His hands, previously holding onto Eliott's hips smooth down his thighs.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do this,” Lucas licks his lips and wraps the fingers of his right hand loosely around Eliott's shaft, making him gasp at the first touch. “Get my mouth on you.” He taunts, working his wrist once. Rubbing loosely from base to tip and looking up through his lashes at the man that is staring back at him with so much hunger in his eyes. “Taste you…” He presses his tongue against the underside of Eliott’s dick, licking up and lapping the precome that gathered at the tip.

Lucas moans at the first taste and Eliott groans, his left hand flying up to grab Lucas's hair in his fist.

“Please, pull it.” Eliott seems uncertain for a second. “Pull my hair, Eliott.”

And Eliott does. A sharp pain, fast like electricity tingles all the way down from Lucas's roots down to his dick. And he’s gone.

With no preamble, Lucas wraps his lips around the tip and lowers his head down, drawing all of Eliott’s length into his mouth in one go until the tip hits the back of his throat and his nose is touching Eliott’s pubic bone. Eliott groans, pulling hard on the hair he’s been gripping at until his cock falls free from Lucas's mouth.

“Fuck, Lucas. Fuck! Wh- what was that?” Lucas frowns, not understanding what Eliott means by that. Did he do something wrong?

“Well… That was me trying to suck your dick?” Then uncertain, Lucas adds, “I thought you said yes… Was it not good?”

“What?” Eliott sputters. “No. No! It was good, great even! Fuck–” He runs his free hand through his hair before meeting Lucas’s eyes again. “I wasn’t expecting that… You, taking all of it in one go. I nearly lost it.”

 _Oh_.

Lucas grins, inching closer until his bottom lip brushes against the tip of Eliott’s cock.

“I have no gag reflex.” Eliott’s face almost looks pained at his words and Lucas doesn’t miss the way he grips tightly at the base of his dick. “Do you need me to slap you or something? To compose yourself a little, it looks like you’re about to lose it.”

“That’s because I’m about to fucking lose it.” Eliott grits out through his clenched teeth.

A deep sigh escapes his lips before he glares up at Eliott and smacks the side of his thigh, hard enough that it leaves his hand tingling and burning.

“Hey! I came here for your dick. Now you better get your shit together and let me suck it. And then, you’re going to fuck me, rough and fast. Stop acting like a fucking virg–”

His sentence his cut short and he lets out a loud moan when suddenly Eliott is pulling at his hair roughly and taking advantage of Lucas’s parted lips to slide his cock into his awaiting mouth.

Lucas doesn’t even hesitate. As soon as his mouth is full, lips stretched around the cock he’s been craving, his eyes fall closed and he starts bobbing his head, nice and slow, sucking down half of Eliott’s length and steadily breathing through his nose.

The weight on his tongue, the contrast between how hard the shaft is and how soft and velvety the skin feels is one of the reasons why he loves giving blow jobs so much. The main reason though, and it’s happening just as he opens his eyes to stare up at Eliott, is to watch his partner completely lost in pleasure. Brows furrowed, lips parted. Being in this position, on his knees, some people find it a weak situation. Lucas doesn’t, he has so much power right now. He’s in control. He’s the one responsible for the pleasure rushing through Eliott’s veins.

Eliott’s pupils are blown, and he’s looking down at Lucas like he wants to eat him up. And Lucas would let him. He keeps tugging on Lucas's hair and biting hard on his bottom lip to stifle a moan that still comes out anyway.

Lucas closes his eyes again, moaning around Eliott’s cock as he starts to move his head lower until the tip hits the back of his throat once again. He swallows, making the walls clench around Eliott and he shivers as the man groans in pleasure. He would be smirking if he didn’t have his mouth otherwise occupied.

Eliott grips tightly on his hair again, and Lucas whines when he pulls his cock from his mouth.

“I’m starting to think you don’t like what I’m doing.” Lucas pouts, wiping the spit that dripped down on his chin with the back of his hand.

Eliott smirks down at him. “Baby, I love what you’re doing.” He wraps his other hand around his cock and traces Lucas’s eager lips with the tip. “But you really think I’m going to let you control this? Didn’t you want me to make you scream as I do with the others?” Lucas frowns but Eliott continues before he can speak. “I’m not going to treat you like the others, Lucas. I’ve been dreaming of this moment ever since we’ve had that date 19 months ago. You really think we’re going in for a quickie–”

“Well, that was the plan.” Lucas interrupts.

“19 months, Lucas.” Eliott bends over and puts his hands under Lucas’s armpits, easily lifting him up until he’s on his feet. Lucas finds himself with his back against the wall, their places swapped. “And if tonight is the only chance I have,” He presses himself against Lucas, fingers sliding underneath the smaller man’s underwear and palming his cock. Lucas whimpers, thrusting his hips up to get some friction. “I will make the most of it,” Eliott says into his ear, teeth nibbling at the earlobe and making Lucas’s eyes roll into the back of his head.

“Fuck…”

“I’m going to make you come.” The hand around his dick starts moving slowly, giving Lucas some friction. “Not let you recover. You’re going to be oversensitive but I won’t stop. I’ll keep going.” Eliott presses his thumb on the slit, spreading the precome that gathered there all over the head. Lucas is going insane. Eliott’s touch on him, his words, his scent filling up his nostrils, everything is making Lucas slowly but surely lose more of his sanity. “I won’t stop until you pass out, exhausted. I won’t stop until I make sure that with every step you take for the next week, you’ll remember me. Inside you.”

“Then fucking get on with it instead of making empty promises,” Lucas growls, grabbing the back of Eliott’s head and pulling him down sharply until their mouths crash together in a searing kiss.

And it’s like an explosion, it’s not sweet. They’re both battling for dominance, making out like they’re fighting until one of them gives up and submits to the other. There's nothing tender in their kiss, it's all tongues and teeth and anger as Eliott pushes and Lucas just pushes right back. They're both hard, rutting against each other like teenagers who are too desperate to even think of slowing down. This has been building for a long time now. Lucas bites hard on Eliott’s bottom lip, pulling at the flesh and he only lets go of it when Eliott’s hand, previously on his dick, smacks loudly his ass cheek. It hurts and Lucas loves it. Lips parting on a choked moan.

“Come with me.” Eliott hisses as he takes a step back, dark eyes watching Lucas intently before he starts to walk down the hallway, excepting Lucas to follow him.

 _Work for it_ , Lucas thinks and he doesn’t move.

Eliott looks behind his shoulder and raises a confused eyebrow. “Fine.” He sighs when he eventually understands that Lucas is playing hard to get. He walks back the distance to Lucas who smiles smugly at the taller man.

He’s not expecting Eliott to pick him up as if he weighed nothing. The gesture is so hot that Lucas’s cock twitches appreciatively and he wraps his arms around Eliott’s neck.

“God, I want you inside me.” Lucas groans, thrusting his hips forward to grind his dick over Eliott’s abs.

Eliott digs his fingers roughly on his ass as he makes his way to the bedroom. Lucas desperately needs to get out of his underwear.

“I have a feeling that you’re really bossy. Aren’t you?” Eliott teases then bites Lucas’s chin softly.

“They call it a power bottom.” Lucas supplies and Eliott chuckles.

“Right. So you’re a needy power bottom.”

Well, that’s true. But, it’s the first time that he’s really losing his mind for sex. He’s never been so desperate for a dick before. What is Eliott doing to him?

When they get in Eliott’s bedroom, door shut behind them, Lucas squirms in the arms still holding him in a silent request to be put down. Eliott does and as soon as his feet touch the ground, Lucas is pulling down his boxers and standing there fully naked. He lets Eliott watch him for a moment, taking in his naked body but soon enough, he’s losing patience because he just wants to get on with it. He turns around and heads up to the large bed, laying back on it.

“Eliott,” Lucas breathes out the name as he spreads his bent legs, feet planted on the mattress. He doesn’t miss the way Eliott swallows, eyes unblinking and staring at his most intimate part. Lucas holds his cock in his hand, jerking it slowly. “I need you, Eliott, please.” He begs in an extra-sweet voice, back arching to prove his point.

“Fucking dammit.”

Lucas hears Eliott mumble to himself, and within the second he’s on Lucas, lips sucking on the sensitive skin of his neck. He smacks Lucas’s hand from his own dick and wraps his fingers tightly around his wrist, doing the same with the other one and then, he’s pinning Lucas’s hands above his head.

“Fuck, you don’t know what you do to me, baby,” Eliott growls harshly before he sinks his teeth on the spot he was just sucking making Lucas cry out loudly.

“You fucking–” The younger man squirms beneath him. “That hurts, you jerk!”

And it does, it hurts but Lucas must be a masochist. His cock, now trapped between their bellies spasms and leaks out a steady amount of precome.

Eliott pulls back, brows furrowed in worry and Lucas takes advantage of that single moment of worry to change their positions, rolling them over and straddling Eliott’s waist. He puts his hands on Eliott’s chest, pressing him down on the mattress.

“That was so fucking easy.” Lucas smirks and Eliott blinks up at him in betrayal before a smile that Lucas could almost consider ‘proud’ tugs on the other man’s lips.

“Well done.”

Lucas doesn’t see the spank coming. He hears the echo of it first before he’s suddenly realizing that his ass cheek is actually tingling and burning. He loves it. _He’s a sucker for being spanked_.

“More...” He breathes out, scratching his nails down Eliott’s chest and rolling his hips backward. Eliott groans beneath him, squeezing Lucas’s ass roughly in his hand before he cracks his palm across the same spot once again, much harder this time that it actually makes Lucas see stars and lose his balance, accidentally biting on his tongue. “Fuck Eliott!” Lucas moans brokenly, unprepared for another hit, and another. They keep coming and Lucas slams his hand against the wall, the other one reaching down to grab his cock and jerk himself with quick, angry strokes. “God, please don’t stop.”

But contrary to what Lucas begs of him, Eliott does stop the spanking and Lucas whines in frustration, smacking Eliott on his chest. “Why did you stop?!”

“Why are you touching yourself?” Eliott accuses and Lucas gapes down at him before he looks down at his hand still wrapped around his dick, as if only realizing now that he was indeed jerking off.

"Because it feels good? Do you need me to explain to you why a man needs to jerk off?"

Eliott’s squints his eyes unamused, then he grabs Lucas’s hips and their positions are once again switched. This time though, Eliott manhandles him until Lucas is positioned on all fours.

“Stay like this,” He tells him and smacks his ass hard to make his point across. Lucas has to turn his head and muffle his moan against his bicep. “Fuck, Lucas… I really love your ass.” Fingers dig on the meat of each cheek and lips roam down his back as Eliott talks. “Can’t wait to get inside you.”

He whimpers and he can _feel_ Eliott’s fucking smirk on his lower back. “Fuck off, Eliott,” He’s growing irritated and impatient now, pushing his ass back onto the hands that keep grabbing and squeezing at.

“Fuck off? Really?”

Eliott doesn’t even give him the time to come up with a witty reply. Lucas feels the taller man spread his cheeks and then a warm, wet tongue laps up from his perineum all the way up to his tailbone and it’s like a jolt of electricity lights up his whole body.

“Oh, fuck!” He cries out throwing his head back, his fists clenching on the bed-sheets. Eliott pulls back, hot breath hitting against his hole and Lucas thrusts his hips backward, needing Eliott’s tongue back on him. “ _Eliott!_ ” Lucas wails when his neighbor bites his ass cheek instead of getting back to work. “Get your tongue in me, I swear to fucking God–”

Sure enough, Lucas is rewarded by another spank before Eliott puts his tongue back where Lucas wanted it the most. Licking the fluttering hole slowly with gentle strokes, then sucking hard on the rim.

“ _Fuck, yes._ ” Lucas whimpers, his whole body shaking from the feeling.

His limbs tremble so hard that Lucas loses the strength of his arms. They give out and he slowly slides down, upper body splayed on the mattress. Eliott spreads his ass further, his tongue working slow and methodically to breach him. And when he does, licking Lucas inside almost hungrily, all his nerve-endings set on fire. Lucas’s head is fuzzy, his body warm and tingly, and he finds himself making high desperate noises, stretching into the comforter beneath him, fingers clenching on the pillow above.

His cock hangs hard and heavy between his legs, and Lucas needs some friction there too. Without giving it much thought, Lucas stretches his legs, pressing his lower body on the bed and Eliott follows the movement, barely disconnecting his tongue from Lucas’s hole.

Lucas can’t help but grind down against the comforter. Blissfully whimpering, eyes closed as he’s lost in pleasure. His hips work back and forth, trying to get stimulated on both ends until he’s close to coming. So close, that he can taste it in his mouth.

Eliott stops all of his movements by gripping his hips tightly in his hands and lifting his ass up and Lucas’s eyes snap open. “I fucking hate you!” He pounds his fist frustratingly on the pillow.

Eliott is clearly happy with himself though. He chuckles against his skin, the vibrations licking up his spine like fire and making his cock twitch, begging to be touched. Lucas swallows the embarrassing moan that tries to slip out. The aborted sound makes Eliott laugh once again, and Lucas could seriously punch him in the face right now. He starts working his tongue inside him again and this time, Lucas can’t hold back a groan, low in his chest as he blindly reaches out to grab the back of Eliott’s head. His fingers grip on the messy strands tightly to keep his neighbor right where he is before he starts thrusting back on his tongue, fucking himself on it.

Honestly, Lucas could do this for hours. He loves getting rimmed if it’s done well. _And Eliott certainly knows how to do it – fuck._

The fingers splayed on his ass move down and then, Lucas feels the tip of a finger joining Eliott’s tongue and yes. _Yes!_

Lucas feels high on the sensation. Eliott retreats his tongue but Lucas can’t even whine about the loss, because then, he’s easily sliding his long finger inside in replacement, reaching the deepest parts and circling his finger around before he curls it and Lucas never wants this to stop. It just feels so good, he’s going insane.

Never before has he ever felt this good whilst having sex, and they’re only doing the prep. If he’s already feeling so good about a tongue and a finger inside him, he’s worried he might actually die when Eliott gets his dick inside him.

“Can they fuck you this good?” Lucas hears Eliott mumble with lips pressed against his ass before he starts nibbling at the flesh. “I never heard you moan like this, baby.” Lucas chokes on a loud moan when Eliott presses his finger roughly against his prostate, curling and pushing and _goddammit_ it sets his body on fire, cock drooling and twitching, making him bring his forearm up to curl around his face.

“I need–” Lucas whines into the crook of his elbow, trying to form a sentence to no avail. Eliott doesn’t stop attacking his sweet spot, and it punches all the oxygen out of Lucas’s lungs. “Come! _Fuck – Eliott!_ ”

He wants to come. He wants to come so fucking bad. If Eliott stops now, Lucas will definitely kill him, make it a slow and painful death.

Heat coils in his belly in no time. When he feels a sure fist on his cock it has him shouting, not sure whether he wants to hump into that fist or shove his ass back onto the finger that keeps pumping inside him expertly.

He doesn't even have to think about it though because Eliott does all the work for him, and within a few minutes he's gasping out, “Eliott! Fuck, I’m… I’m gonna–!” It’s like white, hot lightning running up his spine and it makes his toes curl and his mouth open in a scream. He can’t stop the movement of his hips, the spasming of his body, even with Eliott wringing his climax from his dick.

By the time his entire load is spent all over the comforter and Eliott’s hand he’s a whimpering mess, falling down heavily on his own release.

“So pretty,” Eliott pulls his finger out of him and trails his lips up Lucas’s spine, tongue lapping at the sweat that gathered on his skin. “So fucking pretty.”

Lucas doesn’t answer, still trying to catch his breath because, _wow_. That was something else, and he totally empathizes with Eliott’s previous conquests now. This guy really knows what he’s doing.

There’s some shuffling, but Lucas pays it no mind, head still fuzzy. He’s content just laying there and trying to catch his breath. That is until he feels Eliott’s fingers, wet this time, brushing over his fluttering hole again.

“W-wait!” Lucas gasps loudly when Eliott pushes two fingers inside him, breaching his body before he can even come back from his first orgasm.

“Don’t you remember what I told you, baby?” Eliott mumbles, amused. “Not gonna let you recover.” Lucas squirms beneath him when he starts to spread his fingers, opening up his hole for what is yet to come. “I won’t stop until you pass out.”

"God, I fucking hate you." Lucas presses his flushed face into the pillow. It’s a lot to take but it’s also perfect and _fuck_ it’s so nice.

“Oh yeah? Tell me that when you're riding my dick, baby.” Eliott smirks, groping Lucas’s ass with his free hand.

_Fucking bastard. He sounds smug as hell right now._

Thankfully, he avoids his prostate this time. He fingers Lucas’s tight walls with deep thrusts, scissoring back and forth until the younger man turns soft and loose. When Eliott is shoving three fingers inside, stretching Lucas impossibly wide, all the blood in his body has rushed down to his dick, and he’s hard again. It makes it hard to think straight. It’s so good, he wonders how much better Eliott’s cock will feel when they get to that part.

“Fuck me–” Apparently Lucas has no patience. He feels like he might actually die if he doesn’t get Eliott’s dick in him as soon as possible. “I want your dick, Eliott. Now!”

Eliott is kissing up his back, tongue flicking on his way up to his neck and sucking hard on the skin. It makes Lucas spread his legs further.

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” It’s whispered into his neck and Lucas whines when he feels the fingers retreat from his body. “Get on all fours,” Eliott demands, smacking his ass and Lucas forces his limbs to obey, glancing behind his shoulder to watch Eliott roll a condom over his length and coat it up generously with more lube.

Eliott meets his eyes, and Lucas doesn’t miss the blown up pupils. And then, all he can feel is the head of Eliott’s thick, _god so fucking big,_ cock press against his slick hole and – _Oh fuck._

Lucas sobs into the air above him, back arching as he bears down on Eliott’s cock. Eliott works it slowly inch by inch into his body and why did he waste so much time when they could have been doing this all along?

But Eliott is going too slow. _Hell_ – he’s not even fully inside Lucas that he’s already stopping and it’s making the younger man groan in frustration as hands smooth up and down over his back.

“You fucking–” Lucas tries to push his ass back – tries to get what he wants but Eliott brings his hands to his hips, squeezing them tightly and stopping him from moving which makes Lucas clench his fingers on the pillow so tight that he nearly rips off the fabric. “I’m going to rip off your balls with my fucking teeth if you don’t stop this bullshit, you motherfu– _Fuck!_ ” He doesn't get to finish his insult, because Eliott snaps his hips forward with so much force that Lucas's teeth sink on his tongue and he falls down from the lost balance.

“ _Holy shit._ ” Eliott breathes out, pelvis against Lucas’s ass. He lets out a sound like he’s been gut-punched and bends over, presses kisses across Lucas’s back, breath shallow and hands curled along Lucas’s sides. “Lucas, you’re – you’re so tight, fuck.”

Lucas can barely breathe with it, can barely think, with Eliott in and against him, taking up all the space until he's the only thing Lucas is aware of, the only thing he could focus on.

“Move.” Lucas gasps out onto the bed-sheets, rolling his hips to make his point across, heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

Eliott places his hands on each side of Lucas’s head to keep himself upright. He thrusts shallowly at first, in and out, keeping his pace slow and Lucas is horrified when he starts to relax with each thrust. It’s not how it’s supposed to be between them. Eliott is supposed to fuck him roughly, pound into him fast.

He pushes himself upwards to get back on all fours and Eliott avoids being knocked out by Lucas’s head just in time. Before he can say anything though, Lucas blindly reaches out, his hand grabbing and squeezing Eliott’s ass as he pushes himself back roughly into his dick.

“I’m not made of glass,” Lucas growls when Eliott lets his head fall down against his shoulder and moan into his skin. “Fuck me – Fuck me like you mean it.”

Eliott pauses for a moment, breathing heavily against him then he pushes himself on his knees and grips Lucas’s hips tightly. “Fine, Lucas.” He sounds mad, but Lucas doesn’t dwell on it too long as Eliott slams his hips forward once, roughly. "This is what you want, huh?" Lucas cries out, throwing his head back when Eliott doesn’t even give him the time to process what’s coming and his hips speed up, going deeper over and over and making Lucas see stars and slamming his fist against the mattress.

“Oh, God, Eliott! _Fuck, fuck!_ ” Lucas struggles against Eliott for a moment like he wants to fight him or get away from him instead of fucking him. He just hopes that Eliott will keep fucking him because this is exactly what he wanted. Eliott doesn’t stop, but Lucas gasps loudly when the older man pushes him forward and he finds himself face down and ass up, completely at the mercy of Eliott. He proceeds to let go of Lucas’s hips and grab both his wrists, pinning them with one single hand on Lucas’s lower back and never stopping the maddening rough pace of his thrusts, pushing into Lucas so hard that Lucas can taste Eliott’s rage in his mouth.

“You’re happy now?” Eliott smacks his palm across Lucas’s ass sharply and Lucas sobs into the pillow beneath his head. It stings, _it’s so fucking good._ “Fucking say it, Lucas!”

“Yes! _Fuck yes, Eliott!_ ” Lucas wails, losing what little control he has left on his body and mind. “Don’t stop, please – Don’t stop!” He repeats the words over and over again. The slide in is almost effortless now, but Lucas makes it especially good for him by deliberately clenching his muscles. They both moan, the sounds of their skin slapping together echoing throughout the bedroom.

This is clearly what Lucas gets off on: being drilled, nice and rough. Wanting to feel every inch of it so he’ll be sore with the reminder for the next week and Eliott is all too happy to deliver, pounding into Lucas like his only goal is to make sure that tomorrow, and the day after that, _and the day after that_ , Lucas will be uncomfortable with every step he takes, unable to forget that Eliott has been inside him, claiming him.

“Pull my hair,” Lucas begs.

Eliott snatches the hair at the back of Lucas's head in his hand and yanks it back. There’s a ragged gasp, ripped right from Lucas's lungs. It makes him arch so fucking spectacularly in Eliott's grip. He keeps Lucas like that for a while, using that handful of hair to anchor himself and get even more leverage when pulling Lucas's body against him to meet his brutal thrusts.

“You like that?” Eliott pants.

“Yeah!” Fuck. He does. He loves it.

Eliott lets go of Lucas's hair to nudge his legs together, making for even more friction when he takes the hips back in his hands. He abruptly slows down his speed, making each one punctuated – as deep as he can go into Lucas's body, smacking his pelvis against his ass loudly.

“Oh god... Oh, fuck…” Lucas moans quietly to himself, completely delirious now. "Eliott... get off me."

Eliott immediately stops moving.

“Did I hurt you?” Lucas can hear the worry in his voice.

“No, just get off me.”

So Eliott does, pulling out slowly and leaving Lucas empty. He whines at the loss before he forces himself to stand on his shaking knees and turn around to look at Eliott.

 _Fuck_ – Eliott looks so good. Face flushed, hair even more of a mess than it usually is with a few strands sticking to his sweaty forehead. His pupils are completely blown, he looks so sinful and yet, he still manages to look worriedly at Lucas.

“I’m sorry.”

Lucas frowns. Eliott doesn’t have a reason to be apologizing for and yet he still does it even though he doesn’t even know what he did. He did absolutely nothing wrong.

“Shut up,” Lucas chuckles, grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him to lay down. “I just want to ride you, you idiot.”

Eliott pauses for only a moment, but then he nods because _yeah_ , he wants that just as badly as Lucas does. Lucas moves quickly, straddling Eliott's hips and wrapping his fingers around Eliott's erection, guiding it to his entrance. He anchors his free hand on Eliott's chest while the other man holds himself in position, and then Lucas starts to sink down onto him.

Their mouths drop open as they both exhale groans, watching each other's faces intently. The change in Lucas's expression is instant – his stare goes completely unfocused like he’s just zoned out at the flick of a switch while he takes in the stretch, the feel of Eliott entering him and claiming that territory once again.

Lucas starts to move, rolling his hip slowly at first. Eliott fits perfectly inside him, reaching the deepest parts. His hands move to Lucas’s ass, digging the nails on the flesh and then he’s throwing his head back, moaning into the air when Lucas starts speeding up, bouncing on his cock nice and fast.

“Come here,” Lucas grips Eliott’s shoulders, yanking him upwards to make him sit up. For some reason, he needs Eliott to be closer. “I was thinking–” Lucas gasps out, his breathing coming out in short and loud huffs. “You really do know how to fuck.” A short laugh and then he’s speaking again. “They weren’t exaggerating. Did you do this with all of them? Fuck them this goo–” Eliott cuts him off mid-sentence to crush their lips together.

“Shut the fuck up,” Eliott growls, barely separating their lips and this time it’s Lucas that wants him to shut up.

Wrapping his arms around the other’s neck, he grips Eliott’s hair tightly in both of his fists and pulls roughly on the strands as he crashes their mouths together once more. Lucas can feel the vibrations of Eliott’s groan against his lips.

They’re back to the fighting state of mind. Both wanting to dominate the other, tongues pushing, teeth biting, nails scratching and leaving marks behind. Lucas pulls even harder on Eliott’s hair, forcing the other man to tilt his head back and making him follow the movement so their lips don’t part. Eliott reciprocates by smacking Lucas’s already bruised ass.

The whole time, Lucas never stops bouncing on Eliott’s cock – it’s making him go insane, the contrast between how good and angry he feels all at once. Eliott breaks the bruising kiss to bury his face against Lucas’s neck, biting and sucking on the skin and making Lucas cling to him tightly.

It only takes a few thrusts before Lucas's suddenly gasping loudly and going rigid against him. Eliott smirks, hands still splayed on Lucas’s ass and using the force of his arms to move Lucas up and down on his cock.

“Are you gonna come for me, Lucas?” Eliott’s whispers against his jaw.

“ _Oh my God..._ ” Lucas whimpers, hand falling down to wrap his fingers around his own dick, the other still gripping Eliott’s shoulder. “Eliott… _fuck_ , I need–”

Eliott wraps his arms around him tightly, they’re so close, holding into each other almost like they’re scared of letting go.

“Oh God, Eliott!” Lucas throws his head back, crying out into the room. “ _Eliott, Eliott!_ I’m gonna come, I’m gonna – _ohh shit_ ,” Eliott crashes their lips into a rough kiss, before touching their foreheads so he can stare back down into his eyes and Lucas feels hypnotized, unable to look away.

“Come for me, Lucas. Make a mess, baby. I want to see it. I want the memory of you coming on my cock, tattooed inside my brain. I want to close my eyes and all I see is this moment, right now. Come on, baby. Just let it happen."

"Oh fuck, yes!" Lucas seizes, finally closing his eyes. He tightens all over, muscles tensing up. His mouth drops and a streak of come hits their stomachs and his hand. He releases his load all over them and then an elated, blissful cry pushes out of him. He starts shaking all over while he rides it out and it doesn’t take Eliott much longer before he is groaning quietly and filling up the condom with his climax.

He falls down, bringing Lucas with him while they both try to catch his breath. The minutes pass, and they both come down from their highs. Lucas stares ahead, sobering up with every passing second, as the reality of what just happened dawns on him.

 _Oh fuck_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when the next part will be up, I'm still working on it, but hopefully I'll post it soon! :) hope you guys enjoyed it! Alsooo leave some feedback, I love reading your comments <3


	4. I wanna fucking tear you apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, hello!  
> so, I honestly thought the 4th chapter would be the last but well... there's an additional one, so yay?  
> hope you guys enjoy this one!
> 
> thank you @flying_elliska for being a wonderful beta/friend. you're always so helpful! 🧢🧢🧢
> 
> alsooo, happy 1 year to skam france season 3!!!

When he feels himself waking up, slowly gaining consciousness, Lucas’s first thought is: _Man, it's been an eternity since I slept this good._ He’s well-rested and content. His eyes are still closed and he stretches out his limbs, groaning lazily and then winces when he feels a sharp pain in his ass and lower back. _What the – oh fuck._ His eyes snap open and for a second he’s disoriented as he realizes this isn’t his bedroom. _Oh shit_ , that’s his next thought when he feels his cheek pressed against warm skin, steady breathing and heartbeat beneath his head.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck._

He pulls back in panic, sitting up so fast that his head spins. The images of what he did last night attack his brain all at once and Lucas panics even more.

_What have we fucking done?_

He realizes too late that his harsh movements made Eliott stir next to him and blink his eyes open. He’s looking at Lucas, taking some time to focus and when he finally understands that it’s indeed his neighbor in his bed, a lazy smile stretches on his lips.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Lucas glares and it’s because of his state of panic and because he hates himself _and_ Eliott in that moment, that he kicks Eliott off the bed. A loud thump and then, “ _Ow!_ What the fuck?!” Eliott’s head pops up from behind the mattress. “What was that for?”

“You fucker!” Lucas snaps and rushes to jump out of the bed, wrapping the blanket around his naked body and looking everywhere for his clothes that he can’t find. “Why the fuck am I here?!”

Eliott slowly stands on his feet, rubbing his aching ass and not caring that he’s standing there, fully naked. Lucas falters in his searching party, scolding himself mentally for letting his eyes stare for too long at Eliott in all his naked glory. He also notices that his milky skin is now covered in bruises. His neck, his chest, his stomach, and Lucas doesn’t even need to see it, to know that Eliott’s back must be in the same state – _fuck._

“We kind of had sex last night, or did you forget about that?”

How could he forget about that? With every move he makes, his body aches, reminding him of their late-night activity.

“I meant, I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep. Not here.” _Not with you._

“And why is that a problem?” Eliott approaches him, a smirk plastered on his face. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s not my fault you fell asleep. I wasn’t going to just kick you out, I’m a gentleman after all.”

“Well, you should have woken me up!”

Lucas tightens the blanket around himself the closer Eliott gets.

“But you’re beautiful when you sleep.” He opens his mouth to snap at his neighbor but stays utterly speechless when Eliott raises his hand, Lucas’s underwear hanging on his finger. “You know, you could stay. Have breakfast with me.”

_As if._

He scoffs at the ridiculousness of Eliott’s request and snatches his underwear from him. Starting to loosen up the blanket, he notices Eliott’s hungry stare already directed at his crotch, waiting. Lucas’s face hardens and he smacks him on the chest before he turns his back on him, finally dropping the blanket.

“I like that sight too.”

“Fuck off!” He snarls, quickly putting on his boxers.

“I would put some ointment on those bruises first if I were you.” And Lucas soon realizes what Eliott is talking about when the fabric of his underwear brushes against his ass cheeks. _It fucking burns._ “I got some here if you want. I can do it for you?”

_Is he kidding?_

Lucas turns around, rolling his eyes when Eliott stares at him expectantly. “Look, I told you this was a one-time thing. You don’t have to treat me like _this_. Like one of your many flings, because I’m not like them, I’m not expecting big gestures or declarations of love. We both know what last night was about and it ends here. I shouldn’t even have slept here in the first place. Okay?” Eliott frowns. “So, now let’s not make things awkward. I’m just going to get the rest of my clothes and wave goodbye. Wish you a good day and thank you for last night, that was a good lay.”

The more Lucas speaks, the more he can see Eliott’s face falling, his eyes losing their usual playful brightness. He doesn’t want to stay around though, because he _did_ tell Eliott that it was a one-time thing and Eliott had agreed. So he breaks the eye-contact and walks out of the bedroom, finding his clothes scattered around in the hallway and doesn’t stop walking until he’s out of Eliott’s apartment and safe inside his own.

Ouba runs up to him, wagging her tail excitedly and Lucas kneels down to pick her up, giving her kisses and cuddling her close to him.

“Hey, baby. I’m sorry I left you all alone last night. It’s not happening again, I promise.”

  
  


*******

He tries to keep himself busy for the rest of the day. Cleaning up his apartment, taking Ouba out for a _looong_ walk, going grocery shopping, the laundromat and coming back home to wash the one dirty plate he had left in the sink.

If he stops even for a second, Lucas can’t stop himself from thinking about the person next door, who weirdly enough, hasn’t been making any noise today.

_Maybe he isn’t home_ , his brain supplies. _Maybe he’s out fucking someone else._

The thought of it leaves a sour taste in his mouth which is why he doesn’t want to think about it hence the ‘keeping himself busy’ part. But then, the apartment is spotless and he doesn't have a single thing left to do, so, Lucas sits down in front of his TV and tries to concentrate on Peaky Blinders. Frustration boils through his veins when even Thomas Shelby’s pretty face can’t keep him focused long enough. He’s restless, he can’t stop shifting and with each movement, he feels a sharp pain in his ass and _there he goes_ ; thinking about his hot neighbor. Even Ouba who had been curled up next to him on the sofa gets annoyed by the nervous energy he radiates off and after ten minutes, she hops off the sofa and trots towards his bedroom and… he’s left completely alone, with only his anxiety to keep him company.

By Monday morning, Lucas is exhausted from his lack of sleep and a tiny bit disappointed. Eliott has been oddly silent next door, and it’s weird. It’s weird because Lucas isn’t used to silence anymore, and when he tries on Saturday night to put on loud music, it goes ignored next door.

There are no notes. No dubstep. No loud sex.

Lucas gives up and turns off his stereo after the fifth song of the Rolling Stones and goes to bed way too early, unable to fall asleep.

When he arrives at the shop, to find Arthur making out with VDH by the front desk, Lucas wants to turn back on his feet and leave.

It’s not that he’s not happy for his friend, because he is. Arthur deserves it and Lucas knew the pining wasn’t going to be enough for much longer. These idiots finally stopping with all the dancing around each other could only be beneficial. Not only for them but also for Lucas who was slowly starting to lose his mind about their constant flirting right in front of his eyes. Well, not that them making out in front of him is any better.

_Great_. So they basically switched the pining after each other in public for groping and shoving their tongues in each other’s mouths in public. Lucas doesn’t know what’s worse. But well, as long as Arthur is happy.

He clears his throat loudly when he reaches them and the two pull apart. VDH looks at him sheepishly, shifting from one foot to the other while Arthur only smiles smugly at his friend.

“Yo.”

“Where’s my coffee?” Lucas’s eyes scan over the desk where usually there’s a coffee awaiting him.

“Oh shit.” Arthur chuckles, leaning his head against his now boyfriend’s temple.

_Holy fuck, does Arthur look high. High on love_.

“So this is how it’s going to be?” Lucas sighs gesturing between the two of them. “Now that you have a boyfriend, you’re forgetting all about us?”

VDH blushes at that.

“Ignore him, babe, he’s just jealous,” Arthur whispers, not so subtly to his boyfriend and Lucas scoffs.

“Jealous? Why would I be–” he cuts himself short when he realizes that these are the exact same words he told Eliott before everything went to shit and they fucked up. “Whatever.”

Now that Eliott popped up in his head, Lucas is pissed. So he leaves the two to go back to their making out session and decides to do some work.

An hour later, he’s dusting off the toys on display, purple dildo in hand, when he hears giggles coming from the front desk. When he glances behind his shoulder, it’s to find Arthur and VDH, on the exact same spot they were at this morning. It’s as if they hadn’t moved at all. They’re both looking down at the screen of Arthur’s phone, grinning like idiots and then – Arthur raises his head, meeting Lucas’s eyes and smirking knowingly.

“What?” Lucas asks, eyes narrowing suspiciously. They don’t answer. Instead, they keep looking at him and it slowly makes dread spread all over his body. “What! What are you two idiots giggling about?”

Arthur decides to take pity on him. “Check out your phone.”

What happened now? Why are they looking at him like that? Did they find out about Lucas and Eliott? Well, unless Eliott told them there’s no way they could know about it. And if Eliott did tell them, Lucas is definitely going to kill him.

He reaches for his phone in his pocket, heart beating in his throat, but tries to keep an impassive expression on his face.

Lucas has a notification from Instagram. More precisely, it says Arthur mentioned him in a comment. Frowning, Lucas opens the notification.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he finds.

_That son of a bitch!_

_Come and get it. Come. And. Get. It. COME AND GET IT._

“How come he has your snapback?”

Lucas flinches, looking up from the screen of his phone to see Arthur raising one single eyebrow.

For fuck’s sake, Eliott is a fucking idiot! He might as well have said in big bold letters ‘I slept with Lucas Lallemant’. But Lucas is even more of an idiot. He can’t believe that in his rush to get out of Eliott’s apartment, he completely forgot his snapback.

“Lucas,” Arthur waves dramatically to get his attention. “Why does Eliott have your snapback?”

Lucas swallows thickly around the lump in his throat.

He can’t tell them. If they find out he slept with Eliott… Fuck. Fuck! This is all Eliott’s fault. Why would he do that anyway! Is it to piss off Lucas? Is he playing again? Probably. But this is a blow that Lucas wasn’t expecting and he’s angry. He’s so angry.

He shoves his phone inside his pocket. “I’ll be back soon.”

He’s heading up to the door, chin held high and murder flashing through his eyes. He’s pulling the door open when Arthur speaks up.

“I would put that dildo back where it was before I go anywhere if I were you...”

Lucas stops dead in his tracks and blinks, glancing down at the purple dildo held tightly in his grip.

_Oh fuck._

He’s pretty sure his face his burning red when he walks back the distance to put the dildo in its place.

“Alright, see you.”

Arthur’s smirk and VDH’s chuckle is the last thing Lucas sees and hears before he’s out of the shop and walking with determined steps in the direction of his building. Thank God he doesn’t live far away from the shop.

Before he knows it, Lucas is pounding his fist loudly on Eliott’s door and only stops when there’s a muffled _Fuck, I’m coming,_ from the other side and the door is being opened. Eliott is glaring, mouth opened and ready to snap when his eyes meet Lucas’s already glaring stare and his face quickly turns into a surprised one.

“Lucas?” Eliott gapes in wonder, not having expected to see him.

“Give it back.”

Eliott tilts his head, his eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion as if he had no idea what Lucas is talking about.

“Give what back?”

Lucas has to inhale deeply through his nose. “My fucking snapback. Give it back.”

“Oh!” Eliott grins now, standing up straighter. “Yeah, you forgot it last time, when you were rushing yourself to get–”

“Shut up and hurry, I have to get back to work.” Eliott opens his mouth to speak but Lucas cuts him off before he can even say anything. “And while we’re on the subject, you better delete that fucking picture you posted on Instagram.”

“Huh… why?”

Why? _Why?!_

“Because Arthur knew it was mine! You might have as well said we slept together while you’re at it, why don’t you?”

Fuck, is he really that dumb? Of course, his friends are not stupid, they would certainly connect the dots because there’s no reason for Eliott to have Lucas’s snapback when they hate each other unless something happened between them. Well, Lucas is pretty sure Basile wouldn’t connect the dots… but Arthur was already looking at Lucas with a knowing smile and Yann? God, Yann knows Lucas better than anyone else. It’s actually terrifying how well his best friend knows him. It’s like he doesn’t even have to be physically with Lucas to know when something has happened. Like some sort of psychic…

“Well, if you don’t mind me sharing the information… I’m kind of proud of that, to be honest.” Eliott grins and Lucas takes a threatening step forward, fists already clenched, ready to pounce at any moment. Except… well, he’s not scaring the taller man. Instead, Eliott stays put, keeping his eyes locked on Lucas and reaching out to brush a strand of hair off Lucas’s forehead. “I missed you.” Lucas falters, taking a step back and this time it’s Eliott that takes one forward, keeping their distance close. “Did you miss me?”

_Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Alert! Alert! Code fucking Red! Get out of here, Lucas! Get your legs to work and run! Fuck the snapback_ , his brain supplies in panic but Lucas is unable to move. He just can’t – he can’t function when he’s completely drowning in the depths of Eliott’s eyes on him. Looking at him like _that_.

“I’ll take your silence for an affirmative answer.” A smirk tugs at the corner of Eliott’s lips as he lets his fingers trail softly down from Lucas’s forehead to trace the bone of his jaw. “Do you want to come in?”

_Yes_.

_NO! What the fuck? Get a grip of yourself, you idiot!_

Lucas smacks Eliott’s hand off of his face.

“My snapback.”

Eliott sighs heavily, taking a step back.

“Alright, fine. Come on in.”

“I’m good here, thanks. You go get it, I’ll wait.” Lucas doesn’t trust himself. If he puts a foot inside Eliott’s apartment, well…

“But I don’t know which one is yours.” He scoffs at that but Eliott continues. “I’m serious, I have plenty of snapbacks too, so, just come in and get yours.”

How the hell can he not know which one is Lucas’s when he had taken a selfie with it?

“I’m not going to bite you, Lucas.” A pause and then smugly he adds, “Unless you ask me to?”

“Fuck off!” Lucas snarls, pushing past Eliott into the apartment.

He walks straight to the bedroom, not having forgotten where it is as Eliott follows close behind him.

“So,” Lucas turns to Eliott who closes the door softly behind him. “Where is it?”

“Where is what?” The taller man grins as he approaches Lucas with a sure step.

“The snapback, Eliott.” He rounds Eliott, avoiding him when he gets too close.

“Oh, that. Yeah.”

“Yeah, _that!_ ” Lucas huffs in frustration.

He watches as Eliott walks up to his wardrobe and opens it, revealing all the clothes inside along with a shelve where Lucas notices a few snapbacks aligned next to each other.

“Take your pick.”

He gestures vaguely to the snapbacks and takes a step back to allow Lucas to come closer and search for his own.

Oh, there’s many of them alright, but when Lucas scans over them, he doesn’t find his own. He’s opening his mouth to ask Eliott about it when he feels a warm chest press up against his back followed by Eliott’s hands taking a hold of the shelve, caging Lucas between his arms.

“Eliott,” Lucas whispers in a warning tone.

He should have never come over. This was a terrible, _terrible_ idea.

A shiver runs down his spine when Eliott’s lips connect to the revealed skin of his shoulder. “Eliott...” His whisper is now shaky, with no heat behind it. Already he can feel himself respond to Eliott’s touch, back arching slightly and lips parting.

“God I missed it,” Eliott nips softly on the skin where his neck meets his shoulder, pressing himself harder against his back and Lucas can _feel_ it. He can feel the other man’s arousal and – he’s gone. “I missed the way you say my name.”

_Fuck_.

Lucas spins around, not thinking about the consequences as he pushes Eliott backward until he falls back on the bed and then, he’s quick to straddle him.

Fuck it – he’ll most likely regret it later but for now, Lucas needs – _no_ , he craves it.

*******

Arthur is alone when Lucas walks back into the shop a few hours later. He’s handing over a dark purple bag to a client and wishing her a good day. Lucas smiles at the woman when they pass by each other before he walks up to the front desk, avoiding Arthur’s eyes as he goes.

“Well?” Arthur asks, sounding impatient.

“Well, what?”

“Where’s your snapback?”

_FUCK!_

That’s the one thing he was supposed to go see Eliott for and Lucas forgot it. Once again.

He’s pretty sure his face looks mortified for a moment so he schools his features before he replies to his friend. “I left it at my apartment. He lives right next door, why would I bring it here?”

“I don’t know, maybe because your keys are right here.” Arthur points at the said set of keys resting on the front desk by Lucas’s laptop.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Abort mission!_

“Yeah I know, but I have a spare one in my mailbox in case I lose this one.” Lucas shrugs nonchalantly, turning on his laptop to pretend and make himself look busy.

“Alright, and what took you so long then–”

“Where’s VDH?” Lucas cuts him off, needing to change the subject before it gets out of hand. He’s always been a terrible liar, especially with his friends, they can always tell when he’s lying.

“Oh, he was called in for work.”

The corners of his lips turn up the slightest bit when he glances up at his friend only to see that he’s pouting and looking all sad now that his boyfriend is gone.

“Dude, you two spent the whole weekend together, chill. I’m sure you’re seeing him later tonight.”

“Yeah, I am. But I still miss him.” Arthur sighs heavily which in turn makes Lucas roll his eyes.

_Dramatic idiot._

Lucas wants to leave it at that, go on about his day like everything is normal, pretending Eliott wasn’t inside him minutes ago. But Arthur is staring at him, eyes heavy and making the back of Lucas’s head burn the longer he looks without saying anything. Until Lucas finally loses it.

“What?” Lucas sighs, keeping his focus on the screen of his laptop.

“Nothing! I mean… I don’t know. You seem…” He hesitates and Lucas turns to face him. “Different.” Arthur finally settles on.

“What do you mean I seem different?” 

He shouldn’t have asked that. He’s literally pulling a door open for Arthur to investigate further. What if he can see on his face that he just got laid? 

“Like, you changed?” Arthur shrugs. “What happened with Eliott?”

“What?” Lucas lets out a small, uneasy laugh. “Nothing happened with Eliott. Why would you ask that? Why would anything happen with Eliott?” Fuck, he’s literally digging up his own hole here. “I hate him.”

He knows that Arthur doesn’t buy anything he says from the look his friend assesses him with.

“Are you sure about that?”

Lucas bristles.

“Yes, Arthur. I’m really fucking sure!” He says a bit too defensive, sounding almost hysterical. “I hate the guy. He’s so full of himself and selfish! He doesn’t care about anything or anyone except his own little self! I hate him, you understand? I. Hate. Eliott. Demaury.”

*******

“ _Fuck!_ ” Lucas gasps on a moan when Eliott slams him up against the wall with a loud thud and crashes their lips together in a desperate kiss.

“You’ve been missing it, haven’t you?” Eliott growls into his lips, fingers digging on the flesh of his thighs that are tightly wrapped around his waist as he keeps pounding into Lucas like a feral animal.

How does this keep happening, Lucas wonders with the small sanity he has left. It’s like he can’t get enough. There’s still the hate between them, but _oh god_ , the sex. The sex is just phenomenal, leaving him trembling and always begging for more. 

So now they're – what? Fuck-buddies? _No_. Fuck-enemies sounds more appropriate. 

"Say it," Eliott pants, slowing down is thrusting. 

"Shut up, just… just please don't stop!" He begs, clawing at Eliott's shoulders and rolling his hips to fuck himself down on his cock, even though the position isn't helpful at all. Eliott has all the control like this and Lucas can barely move. 

"I'll keep going when you admit it." Eliott scrapes his teeth softly along Lucas's jaw, keeping himself deep and unmoving inside. 

"Admit what?" 

"You've been missing this? – Me."

"Yeah…" Lucas swallows thickly. "I've missed your dick."

"You're basically saying you've missed me." 

Eliott leans back, enough to look into his eyes and Lucas rolls them at the pleased little smile on the other's face. 

"I missed your dick."

"Same thing. I can read between the lines."

"There's no between the lines to rea–" 

His sentence is cut short when Eliott snaps his hips roughly against him, starting up a fast, angry rhythm that punches the air out of his lungs and makes it impossible to remember what they were even talking about because all Lucas knows now is the feeling of Eliott’s hands on him, the burning sensation he leaves on his skin from his stubble, teeth biting, lips sucking and marking him up.

Then he’s being pinned down on the bed and the position, unlike when he was pressed up against the wall, makes it much easier to meet Eliott’s thrusts. 

Lucas feels teeth sink around his bottom lip, tugging on the flesh as his own arms wrap around Eliott’s neck, gripping at his hair with his fingers and pulling him closer, _much closer. More._ His lips part in a silent request that Eliott is quick to grant by pushing his tongue past Lucas’s lips until they collide in an explosion. Everything about them screams _desperation,_ their kiss, their hands on each other’s bodies, trying to get so impossibly close even though it’s physically impossible to get closer than they already are. They try anyway. Fingers clawing, hips moving together. _More._

“More,” Lucas begs with his mouth, then again with his body by arching his back and crossing his legs in a tight, visceral grip around Eliott. “Eliott, more…”

It’s not enough. It’s never enough. Something - Something is always missing. Sex with Eliott is definitely the best he’s ever had, but there’s still something missing, an emptiness inside Lucas that leaves him feeling frustrated because he doesn’t know what it is or even how to fill it up.

His wrists get restrained at the top of his head by Eliott's hands, their eyes meet and Lucas forgets how to properly use his lungs. Eliott's pupils are blown, so dark, swallowing up the mystery that is the color of his eyes. 

Can anyone look into those eyes and not be affected by them? Lucas would immediately call bullshit. That's what caught him in the first place. Just a glance. One look that felt like a current of electricity beneath his skin, lighting him up from the inside. 

"What do you want, baby? Tell me, I'll give you anything." 

Lucas opens his mouth but no sound comes out. He doesn't know. He wants it, but he doesn't know what. 

The silence stretches between them, they have completely stopped moving. Eliott is still deep inside him, but apart from looking into each other's eyes, they haven't been doing anything. He doesn't even know if they stay like that, unmoving for seconds or hours. 

But then, something shifts. Eliott's eyes soften, it makes Lucas's heart squeeze in his chest before it starts beating at full speed. The fingers wrapped around his wrists slide up until they intertwine with his own in a secure lock. 

" _T'es tellement beau,_ " Eliott whispers into the silenced room before he leans in, capturing Lucas's lips in a kiss, so soft and tender. 

Lucas doesn't know what it is, he doesn't even try to think about it as he just wants to enjoy the floating sensation he feels right now. 

And they're moving again. Eliott pushes into him, slowly. They never let go of each other's hands, they don't rush, they don't try to get control over the other. They move together patiently and when they reach the peak, they're both just as breathless as they always are. 

Except that this time, Lucas doesn't feel frustrated about that thing that is always missing. Whatever that thing was, Lucas knows he found it. 

*******

Eliott is in the shower and for some reason, Lucas is still at his place when he should have already left. He's going to blame the fact that he's still laying down in Eliott's bed on his tired limbs. Once again, his neighbor worked him up until exhaustion. 

He sighs and forces his body to at least cooperate into a sitting position. His eyes adjust, focusing and scanning over the bedroom, finding small details that he never really paid attention to before. Like the guitar that's hanging up against one of Eliott's walls, the books aligned on a shelve, the clothes thrown carelessly over a chair. 

Lucas finds himself standing on his feet, not bothering to put on his underwear, as curiosity grows inside him. After all… if you want to know a person, the best way to find out about them is to look inside their bedroom, isn't it? 

He goes straight to the books, bypassing the guitar as his fingers unconsciously strum the strings in a soft, short vibration of a melody. He wishes he could say he's surprised by the books Eliott reads but… Not so much, in reality. _Romeo and Juliet_ catches his eye. _Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Les Misérables, The Great Gatsby, Madame Bovary –_ Lucas shudders at that one, remembering having to read it in terminale. There is also a second shelve and Lucas blinks in surprise when he notices they're all books by Virginia Woolf. 

Interesting. 

Does that mean she's his favorite author? Well, he wouldn't have so many books written by her if she wasn't. 

One of them looks older than the others. Well… Not older, but worn. _Well-loved, cherished._ Lucas can almost picture Eliott reading this book over and over again. Memorizing every line, every comma. 

_The Waves._

Lucas reaches out, stroking the spine of the book gently with the tip of his fingers. He slowly extracts it from the others, picking it up with precaution and looks down at the front cover before turning it carefully to read the back cover. 

**_I, who would wish to feel close over me the protective waves of the ordinary, catch with the tail of my eye some far horizon._ **

What the hell is that supposed to mean? 

Lucas frowns, not quite understanding the quote. Well, he's never been much of a literature man himself, that's why he was an S student back in high school. He wouldn't be surprised if Eliott was an L. 

He puts the book down and turns to Eliott's desk where a mess of art supplies are scattered all over. _For someone that keeps his apartment clean, that sure is a surprise._ Of course, Lucas finds a sketchbook when he looks further into all the mess. Of course, he's curious and wants to see what exactly Eliott draws, wants to find out how great of an artist Eliott is. Is he an amateur or a professional? 

_"So, what about you? What do you do?"_

_"I, uh… well," a small nervous chuckle caresses his eardrums. "I'm an artist?"_

_"Are you asking me?" There's teasing in his voice, his eyes twinkling with amusement when the man before him turns a deep shade of red._

_"No. I mean… it's just that people tend to uhm – not take me seriously when I tell them what I do for a living."_

_A deep frown contorts his features._

_"Fuck them. Fuck what people say. You shouldn't feel ashamed about what you do. The world needs artists. Where would we be now without them?"_

_"What about mathematicians? Scientists?"_

_"Well yes, of course, we wouldn't be where we are now without their discoveries but… To me, they're also the ones that destroy the world. They have the knowledge to save it, but most of them use their capacities to make things worse instead of better. But the artists?" The other looks at him in wonder, eyes shining and lips parted. "The artists are here to leave a mark behind so the future generations will know what we were about. They're here to bring some happiness in the midst of chaos. They're here to capture the moment, frame the time on a canvas, a wall, a letter, a camera." He pauses, a small smile tugging on his lips. "My mom used to say that if an artist falls in love with you, you can never die. She loves that quote. It's from–"_

_"Mik Everett…" It's said in a whisper. He looks up and finds himself pinned on his chair from the intensity of the other's eyes on him. "You're surprising."_

Lucas shakes his head slightly, pushing the memory far away to the back of his mind as he picks up the sketchbook. He opens the first page. It's blank. He flips it carefully, there's a sentence written down. 

_In another parallel universe:_

He flips that page. 

Slim fingers. Knuckles. A hand drawn in detail. 

Another page. 

There's a raccoon. Sitting at what seems to be a bar. He's looking at a hedgehog that has his back to him as he's pushing the door to enter someplace. Lucas stares at the drawing for a moment, captivated. Everything around is blurry, the buildings, the street... as if Eliott didn't want to draw the details. The only two detailed figures are the raccoon and the hedgehog. 

Next page. 

Lucas freezes. 

The arch of a neck, a sharp jawline, and lips. Lips that are slightly curved in a hint of a smile. A tiny mole right at the corner of the upper lip, another one slightly beneath the bottom one. One resting on the right side of the chin. And finally… a much bigger mole on the curve of the neck. 

_Fuck._

_What_ – okay. He couldn't mistake this for just anyone. Those are his lips, his moles. Why did Eliott – Lucas's heart squeezes so hard in his chest that it hurts. 

Before he knows it, Lucas turns the pages, one after the other. The more he sees, the more frantic he gets. His breath comes out in loud pants, he feels dizzy. 

There's a hedgehog sitting alone and looking down at his phone with a sad expression. There's a raccoon joining the hedgehog at his table. Sharing a meal. Lucas understands that Eliott was actually drawing their date night the more he flips the pages. In between, there are detailed parts of Lucas. His eyebrows. His eyes. His mess of hair. 

The hedgehog doesn't leave the raccoon behind. They leave together, hand in hand into the night. 

Then there's domesticity. The raccoon cooking for the hedgehog. The two of them cuddled up on a sofa as they watch a movie. Brushing their teeth together. Waking up in the morning. _Together._ On the beach. The mountain. Going camping. Stargazing. Moving in. Getting a pet. Growing old. 

"You're immortal."

Lucas flinches, the sketchbook falling from his hands and landing on the floor with a loud thud as he's pulled harshly from his trance when the familiar voice speaks up from behind him. 

He turns to Eliott, eyes wide and terrified. 

"What?" He wishes he could use his voice properly but the question comes out in a trembling breath. 

Eliott assesses him for a moment, leaning against the doorframe. He glances down at the sketchbook on the floor before he meets Lucas's eyes again. 

"You'll never die." 

_Shut up._

_Shut up!_

Eliott takes an unsure step forward and Lucas takes one back, like a scared animal. It makes Eliott stop dead in his tracks. 

"Lucas…"

"I have to go!" He says, too loudly, too high. 

Lucas rushes to get his clothes, putting on his underwear in a hurry. Thankfully, Eliott doesn't attempt to talk to him or even come close. Instead, he moves to pick up the sketchbook that Lucas didn't bother to put back where he found it. He freezes when watches Eliott close it and caress the cover with his fingers almost tenderly before he puts it back on his desk and turns to Lucas. Eyes soft but unsure. 

_He needs to leave. He needs to leave. Now._

"Thanks for another good lay."

Eliott frowns, opens his mouth to speak but Lucas disappears before he gives him the chance to. 

*******

The shop Daphné pulls him along to is something made out of a horror movie. There are girls _everywhere_ nearly tackling each other to get the last palette of a certain brand. He also feels unsafe when the huge gorilla man doing the security keeps a close eye on him as if he was going to steal something here.

He hates Sephora.

It’s the first time he actually steps inside one, but he’s seen what it looks like from the outside and he’s always been so glad he wasn’t a girl or a guy into makeup as he didn’t have to fight for it. Why do they even use makeup? They’re beautiful without it.

But well, this is his own fault. He agreed to join Daphné for a shopping day and here he is, forced to walk into a hell ruled by women. 

“Daphy… I’m gonna wait outs–”

“Here, hold this, please.” Daphné pushes a small basket onto his chest with a few items inside already, leaving him no choice but to follow close behind her whilst also being her own personal assistant.

“How can you girls even breathe in here?” Lucas complains, to no one in particular – since Daphné is literally acting like he’s not even talking – as he pushes past a group of teenagers.

“Hand.” Lucas groans, holding out his hand to Daphné who applies some eye-shadow on the back of it to check out the color. “What do you think of this one?”

“I think it’s great.” Lucas nods, barely giving it a glance.

“No, this lacks pigmentation Lucas,” Daphné tells him with an annoyed huff as if she was tired of his little knowledge in makeup. “Let’s try this one. Hand.” She says impatiently when Lucas pulls his hand back only to place it on top of hers again.

Soon enough, Lucas’s hands are both smudged in a rainbow of colors and when there’s no more room, Daphné applies makeup on his forearms. Thankfully he’s able to stop her from applying anything on his face.

“So, how are you? I mean, I know how you are you have already told me. What I want to know though is how are you, romantically speaking.” Daphné asks him casually, eyes scanning over the shelves when they get to the lipsticks part.

“What do you mean ‘romantically’?” Lucas lifts up the basket when Daphné carelessly throws a tube of lipstick inside.

She pauses in her inspection of another lipstick and glances towards Lucas, eyes searching and making him squirm on his feet.

“I don’t know it’s been like what, two years since you’ve dated?” Daphné says, putting down the lipstick she had in hand and going back to her research.

“I have dated, Daphy.”

He has. They were meaningless dates that were more considered flings than anything else but he has dated.

“Never anything serious.” She puts another tube inside the basket before she turns to him, completely giving him her attention. “Lucas, what Jonathan did...” Daphné pauses when the name of his ex makes him instantly go rigid, his whole body tensing up. “Fuck…” She bites her bottom lip, assessing him for a moment and nods. “Okay, let’s go pay.”

He follows her to the register, and as soon as they walk out of the shop, Lucas can breathe again. Daphné links their arms together guiding him down the busy streets. They walk in comfortable silence for a moment until she finds a free bench and sits down on it. Lucas looks down at her expectant face and when she pats the empty spot next to her a smile stretches on her lips when he joins her.

“You know,” she starts softly. “People don’t always leave.” Lucas glances at her only to see that she’s already looking at him, face kind and her smile, even though it’s not as big as usual, it still makes Lucas want to reach out a hug her. Daphné’s smile just does that to you. She can make anyone feel like everything is going to be okay just by smiling in their direction. _A ray of sunshine._ “You just need to find the right ones, the ones that will stick by your side forever. And… you already found a few of those, Lucas. There’s Yann, Basile, Arthur, Emma, Imane, me–” A wet chuckle escapes his throat as tears threaten to fall from his eyes and roll down his face. Fuck, he loves Daphné so much, she always knows how to cheer him up, how to put a smile on his face _._ “We’ve been with you since high school, we’re not going anywhere.”

She reaches down to take his hand, entwining their fingers and squeezing softly.

“I know that,” Lucas nods weakly, keeping his eyes focused on their hands. “But… after everything, after – it’s becoming harder and harder for me to let people in.”

“I understand,” _does she though?_ “But, don’t you feel lonely sometimes? I mean, don’t take me wrong here Lucas. Of course, we’re all here for you, but… it’s never going to be the same as having a lover, someone you connect with deeply.” Lucas opens his mouth to speak but before he can so much as utter out a single noise, Daphné smacks her hand over his mouth. “Hush, let me finish.” 

He glares at her playfully, but after a slight nod, she pulls her hand away before continuing.

“Okay… I’m going to tell you something and I want you to let me finish before you can speak, deal?” Lucas nods once again, worry spreading all over when he watches her take in a deep, shaky breath. “I used to… I mean, you know how I am, always cheerful, always smiling.” She laughs weakly at that, looking down at their linked hands as she plays nervously with his fingers. “Back in high school, I was like that but it was extreme. People often thought I was dumb, and I kind of let them believe that. The Daphné of high school was that kind of girl people like to mock because she’s blonde, she’s dumb, she has two left feet, and well… I played the role well, I guess. Keeping up that image of myself so they wouldn’t try to look further than that. Truth is…” Daphné swallows thickly, “Truth is, I was a little girl that had to grow up too fast. No one knew… of course, that like you Lucas, my dad left. Like you Lucas, my mom was sick.”

_Fuck._

How long have they known each other? Years. They’ve been friends for years and he never knew about that. Fuck, how many times was Lucas the one to laugh about how weird Daphné was when they first met her. He remembers that quote that Manon had plastered on her bedroom wall.

_Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always._

Well… He hasn’t always been the kindest person, has he?

Eliott’s face losing the playful smile on the morning after they had first slept together pops up in his mind. Or when his eyes lost the soft brightness when Lucas left in a rush the last time, after having seen the – _no._ _Not going there._

“And, at a very early age,” Lucas pushes his thoughts away as Daphné starts talking again. “I had to be the adult of the house. Paying for the bills, cooking, taking care of not only myself but also my mother… I kept up a good facade in front of all of you, no one ever guessed I was, in reality, someone else. No one until Basile.” Her smile turns from weak and sad to a little bashful. “Who would have thought, huh? Me and Basile. I actually hated him before, I thought he was gross and rude. He was always so loud, always trying to hook up left and right. But he saw me… he really saw me and I let him in, so he started seeing more bits of me. And I wasn’t so lonely anymore until finally, I had no more walls built up. Basile is the one that knows all of me, inside out.” She pauses then bursts into loud laughter, causing a few people to look their way curiously. “I _nside out."_ She repeats and Lucas grimaces at that.

“Ew, Daphné!” 

That only makes her laugh louder and soon, Lucas is joining her. When they both calm down, they smile at each other and Lucas squeezed her fingers gently. 

“You’re truly an amazing, beautiful, strong woman… You’re the best, Daphy.” He leans in, planting a kiss on her cheek and chuckles when he notices her flushed face when he pulls back. 

“Anyway!” She clears her throat. “What I’m trying to say is, you may have the best friends in the whole world and think that it’s going to be enough but the truth is Lucas, nothing comes close to finding the one person that you can shed all your layers in front of and completely open up to. A person that will know how to read you like an open book from a single glance. But… if you don’t let people in, how are you going to find that person?” Lucas stares at her, letting the silence stretch between them. “Just promise you’re going to at least try to stop pushing people away?”

“I…” Fuck, that’s like the one thing Lucas is a hundred percent sure he can’t do. “I’ll try.” He finally says, just because he wants to stop talking about this now that she’s focusing on him. “Now, come on,” Lucas stands up and pulls her by the hand before he leads them towards the nearest restaurant. “Let’s go eat something, I’m starving.”

*******

The room is packed.

Arthur and Lucas are celebrating their shop’s second year of activity. It’s crazy how in two years they became one of the best-reviewed sex shops in the city. When they first started their business, they had no idea they would succeed, and especially not so fast. But they’re both proud of what they created, proud that people are comfortable to walk inside without shame.

So they’re celebrating _because they can._ Their friends are all here, along with a few regulars. There's alcohol, food, and music. Thank God they’ve put most of the toys away in the storage or else there’s a big chance they could have been robbed. By Basile for example, that keeps asking Lucas to just give him a free toy.

“It’s not like you guys will miss it. You’re both making a lot of money from the shop, what’s one tiny free toy, right? I thought I was your best friend!”

“Yann is my best friend,” Lucas smirks, taking a sip from his bottle of beer. “Don’t look at me like that, Baz. Now hush, Arthur is going to make a speech.” He points towards where Arthur is standing near the front desk, the music is stopped and then his friend clears his throat.

“Attention please,” Arthur smiles when everyone glances curiously at him. “I’d like to thank all of you for coming tonight, it means a lot to us.” He gestures towards Lucas who’s still standing next to Basile. “Some of you already know the story behind our shop, but for those of you who don’t, the Infiltration was first created because of a high school bet. Yes, go on you can laugh.” Arthur says when there are a few chuckles coming from their guests. “Look where that bet lead us to though. Kudos to my father for surviving a near heart attack when I told him: ‘Dad, I’m not going to be a surgeon like you. Me and my friend Lucas are going to open a sex shop’. The face he made was priceless, so of course, I thought to myself ‘Arthur, while you’re at it, go on and come out as bisexual. Send him straight to the grave.’ You know? Because, if I had to disappoint him, why not go all the way.”

Lucas has a smile on his face as Arthur explains to their guests how he indeed told his father about the sex shop and did his coming out all in the same conversation. Lucas has always been fascinated by how unafraid Arthur truly is.

“But, hey dad, look at me. I made it.” Arthur says, raising his beer bottle in a cheers movement as if his father was actually here supporting him. “Anyway, I hope you enjoy your evening, and again thank you all for coming. Lucas?” He looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “Speech?”

Oh fuck. He hates doing speeches. It always reminds him of when he had to do them in class. He remembers all too well how his voice would get shaky and how his hands would sweat and tremble from the nerves.

Lucas shakes his head in refusal but Basile pushes him forward, forcing him to take Arthur’s place. Lucas glares at his curly-haired friend and before Arthur can leave his side, he grabs the sleeve of his shirt, pulling on it almost pleadingly. Thankfully, Arthur stays put, not leaving his side.

“Go, Lulu!” Emma shouts from the back and that makes Lucas relax, a small smile stretching on his lips.

“Well, thanks for your enthusiasm.” He winks at Emma and she raises her thumbs up excitedly. “I really suck at making speeches guys, so, uh… anyway, thank you all so much for coming tonight fellow perverted friends.” Someone clears their throat loudly and Lucas’s eyes meet Imane’s, who’s raising an eyebrow at him. “Except you babe, I know you’re only here for support.” She nods once, making Lucas suppress a grin. “Anyway… I’m by no means an expert, but one of the reasons why we made this shop, apart from the fact that we bet on it, is because of how important sex is in a relationship. Just ask my parents... they are divorced.” Ah yes, humor based on his pain. No wonder he and Arthur are friends. “And nothing could have made me happier than when one day, a client of ours came up to us saying that we saved his marriage when no therapist could. We only just sold him a few toys really, but what I’m trying to say is… please, have kinky sex, it could save your life.” 

Lucas raises his beer to announce the end of his speech, laughing when Emma whistles loudly from the back to be heard above all the people cheering. The music starts again and Lucas and Arthur move to join their friends.

“Nice speech.”

A shiver runs down his spine at the familiar voice whispering in his ear. 

Oh no. He can't do this. He – they haven't seen each other since the sketchbook incident. What is he supposed to do now? 

_Act like you always do around him?_ His brain supplies. 

Lucas spins around, already scowling up at Eliott.

“What the fuck?” 

“So, do you need your life saved, Lucas?” Eliott asks, voice low and soft like honey. It makes Lucas feel things.

“What?” He furrows his brows in confusion.

“ _Have kinky sex, it could save your life._ ” 

Oh.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” 

“Eliott, finally! I thought you’d never come!” 

Lucas takes a step back when Arthur, after having spotted them, throws himself at Eliott, hugging him tightly.

“Of course, you invited him.” Lucas rolls his eyes, irritated by the sight of his friend being all touchy with Eliott. 

“Kinda disappointed you didn’t,” Eliott says, smirking when Lucas glares at him. “Aren’t you going to make me visit?”

“You’ve been here before,” Lucas tells him coldly. “And this isn’t an apartment for sale, you can walk yourself around if you want.” A pause, and then Lucas smiles sweetly at the other man. “Please be my guest if you’re looking to rent another apartment though.”

“Nah, I’m good where I’m at right now. Kinda like my neighbors.” 

They stare at each other, Lucas with clear murder flashing through his blue eyes as he tries and fails to pretend he doesn't get what he means. Eliott, with the same, usual intensity that Lucas could never get used to.

“Jesus fuck, the sexual tension is actually suffocating, guys.” The eye-contact between them is broken when they both glance at Arthur in sync. “Just leave and fix this problem. Preferably without your clothes on.” 

“How about fuck you, Arthur?” Lucas tells his friend, trying to keep his cool.

“Sorry, maybe if I didn’t have a boyfriend but hey–” Arthur gestures to Eliott as if he was showing off something on sale. “He’s right here, why don’t you ask him? I'm sure he's willing." Arthur turns to Eliott then, "Are you willing?"

Eliott winks and Lucas wants to strangle him. Wrap his fingers around his neck and squeeze his windpipes tightly until he falls unconscious on the floor. 

Instead of committing murder because that would lead to prison and someone like him in prison would probably be seen like candy–, Lucas turns on his heels after throwing one last glacial stare at the two of them, to join Imane and Emma. At least, unlike le gang, they won't annoy him about Eliott. 

He spends a good part of the evening with them, being joined later by Daphné and Alexia. 

"Who's that guy that keeps making eyes at you?" Daphné whispers in his ear and Lucas doesn't have to look around because he knows who she's talking about. He met his eyes way too many times tonight, always staring back at him. 

"My neighbor." Lucas sighs and before she can ask anything else about him, he holds out his hand to her. "Dance with me?" 

A bright smile instantly illuminates her face as she places her hand on top of his. 

"Why, sir, it would be an honor."

Lucas winks at her before they turn to join the many bodies dancing on the makeshift dance floor. 

Three songs in and Lucas's eyes find those of his neighbor, once again. Eliott breaks the eye-contact first for once, but only to look down at a petite brunette who clearly doesn't know what personal space means. Eliott listens to her, seemingly not bothered by how close she is, or how she has her hand placed on his chest when she leans in to whisper into his ear. His heart speeds up in his chest when Eliott throws his head back, laughing so loudly that the sound reaches Lucas's ears, even through the loud music. 

He doesn't know why but he doesn't like what he's seeing, and when Eliott lifts his hand, brushing his fingers delicately through a strand of her hair to tuck it behind her ear, Lucas loses it. 

He approaches the two with a determinate step, jaw, and fists clenched. When he's close enough, he catches the end of the girl's sentence.

"...to my place?" 

_Like hell, they will._

"Can we talk?" Lucas interrupts them, the words leaving through his gritted teeth. 

The girl is the first one to look at him but Lucas pays her no mind. He keeps his eyes on Eliott and watches as the other turns around, raising a surprised eyebrow when his eyes land on Lucas. 

"Sure." Eliott easily agrees with a nod. 

"In private." Lucas's stare moves pointedly to the girl, cold as ever and Eliott follows his gaze. 

"Oh, uh…" The girl frowns when Eliott smiles apologetically at her. "I'm sorry. I'll text you, yeah?" 

_He will? What does he see in her?_

The girl huffs, glaring annoyingly at Lucas who keeps assessing her with venom until she finally decides to leave. 

"What did you want to tell me?" Eliott asks when she's out of earshot, looking expectantly down at Lucas, his hands shoved in his pockets. 

"Not here." Lucas scans the room to make sure no one is looking their way before he grabs Eliott by the wrist, forcing his hand to fall out of his pocket and quickly guides him towards the storage room. 

"Lucas?" 

"Shh!" 

He locks the door behind them, resting his back against it for a moment. It's very dark inside, and Lucas doesn't feel like turning on the lights, instead, he waits until his eyes adjust to the darkness. 

"Lucas?" Eliott asks again, now sounding worried. "What's going on?" 

What's going on, indeed. Why is Lucas acting like this? Why did seeing Eliott with that girl make him feel… _Ugh_. He's just not supposed to react that way. He's not supposed to care. It was a one-time – okay, it was supposed to be a one-time thing, until it actually became an everyday-thing. Why does he keep coming back for more when he's supposed to hate the guy?

"Okay, the silence is kind of freaking me out… If you're going to kill me– Oh, wow. Okay, hi?" Eliott stumbles over his words when Lucas’s hands are suddenly on him, pressing him back against the wall as his fingers work effectively to unbutton Eliott's jeans. "Fuck, you're horny. You're – okay." 

"Eliott?" Lucas suppresses a grin when Eliott cuts himself short and answers with a little _Hm?_ "Shut up."

He lost count of how many times this has happened between them. Well, every day for a while now. Until… The sketchbook incident.

Lucas falls down to his knees and Eliott follows the movement with his eyes before he thumps his head back and lets out a shuddering breath. It's amazing how Lucas, even after having slept together many times, can still make Eliott feel like it was the very first. 

"Good boy," Lucas grins, enjoying the moment where he can be the one with all the power. He knows how his neighbor works now. All pliant and soft at first until something seemingly switches in his brain and an animal is let out, claiming the power. Don't get him wrong though, he may let Eliott manhandle him, it doesn't mean he's a weak little thing. 

He pulls down Eliott's jeans and underwear to mid-thigh, mouth salivating at the sight of his cock already hard and ready. He can't help but think about the girl and if Eliott had followed her home. Would he physically react so fast too, or was it just Lucas? He hopes he's the only one that can have this effect on him. 

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait." Eliott pants, grabbing Lucas's hair in his fist to keep him still when he tries to get down to work. "How come you're suddenly horny?" 

Lucas looks up at him, considering the question for a moment. But the thing is, he doesn't know. He has no idea why he's getting himself worked up like this. Especially, he doesn't know why he keeps coming back to Eliott. If he's horny, he could just open up Grindr and he'd find someone within two minutes. So why? Why Eliott? Why did it bother him so much to see him getting all flirty with the girl? 

"Why does it matter?" He asks with a frown. 

Eliott keeps his eyes on him, scrutinizing him from above. "I don't know, because you looked like you were about to murder someone when you interrupted me with Alicia?" 

" _Alicia_ ," Lucas scoffs. 

"Lucas you said you wanted to talk and now you're all over me."

Eliott keeps pushing, trying to get an answer to a question that Lucas doesn't even have the answer to. 

"Okay," Lucas laughs, unamused as he stands up on his feet and Eliott pulls up his jeans. "Fine. Fuck this, go back to her."

He doesn't even have the time to turn around that Eliott is already grabbing his wrist, forcing Lucas to stay put. 

"Let go."

"No!" Eliott says a little higher than probably intended.

"Let fucking go!" Lucas growls, irritated and tugging on his arm to try and get himself free but Eliott keeps his hold on him strong. "Eliott! For fuck sake! Let go or I’m going to–" 

He just wants to leave now. He wants to get out of here and get as far away from Eliott as he possibly can. 

“Or you’re going to what, Lucas?” 

Lucas’s eyes burn with rage, he tries to detangle Eliott’s fingers from his wrist, with little success and the more he’s being forced to stay around Eliott, the less he can think rationally. Lucas grabs the first thing that his hand can reach and hits Eliott’s shoulder with it.

“Let me go, you fucking asshole!” 

Eliott pauses, blinking slowly. “Did you just hit me with a dildo?” He asks calmly.

_What?_

Lucas looks down at the object in his hand and, _yep_ , a dildo. Well… desperate times call for desperate measures. He wouldn’t have been reduced to use a dildo as a weapon if Eliott just let go of him. _Which, he’s still not doing._ So, Lucas hits him again. Repeatedly. 

“Ow - fuck! Lucas, stop, _stop it!_ ” Eliott grabs Lucas’s other wrist, completely restraining him and forcing him to drop the dildo as he swaps their places. Lucas finds himself being the one pressed up against the wall, Eliott's body flushed against him. “If you wanted to try BDSM, you could have just asked.” 

"Fuck off!" Lucas jerks desperately despite the strength of Eliott's hands around his wrists. 

"Why were you all over me Lucas?" 

Eliott keeps his voice calm and collected, and it pisses him off. 

"I don't fucking know!" Lucas snarls right in his face. 

"Yes. You do."

Lucas freezes, body tensing beneath Eliott. 

_No. He doesn't, he doesn't know why. He doesn't!_

Eliott looks into his eyes, so fucking intensely that Lucas feels like he can see right through him. _Know_ all of him, all of his secrets. 

Lucas shuts his lids tightly, not giving the other the chance to find whatever he was searching for. Eliott sighs heavily from above, his warm breath caressing Lucas's face before he leans in, brushing the tip of his nose across Lucas's cheek. 

"Please… Open your eyes, I need you to look at me." It almost sounds like he's begging. 

"Let me go," Lucas says in a whisper. 

"Lucas,–"

"Please." He cuts him off, aware of the way his bottom lip is now trembling. Still afraid to open his eyes as he keeps them stubbornly closed.

Silence. 

And then, the warmth pressing up against him is gone and Lucas finally allows himself to breathe. He stays put for a moment, leaning back against the wall. When he blinks his eyes open, Eliott is standing a few feet away from him, eyebrows furrowed and wearing an expression Lucas has never seen before. 

It doesn't matter. Lucas needs to get out of here, so he rushes to the door. 

"Lucas…" He stops, keeping his back to Eliott, hand frozen on the door handle. "I can't do this anymore. I… I'm tired. I'll stop running after you." 

Lucas's heart squeezes painfully in his chest. "I never asked you to run after me."

"No, I know. I brought this on myself, and I'm sorry if I made you feel… uncomfortable." _What._ "But huh, anyway, I'll stop now."

"Good." A single tear rolls down his face. He hopes that his voice doesn't tremble as much as he thinks it does. 

Lucas quickly wipes the tear away, angry for even allowing himself to be this weak, before he opens the door and leaves Eliott behind. Once again. For the second and probably last time in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, lucas is an idiot, i know!  
> but, hey, he has another chapter to fix this, don't you worry!  
> also, creds to Ellie for that dildo/weapon part  
> also, I know that there's no way that Lucas's mom would tell him that quote when the author isn't much older than her son. But it fits the moment so let's not stick to technicalities 
> 
> please leave some feedback? i'm starving and broke :(((


	5. My heart goes out to you wherever you are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings for this chapter:  
> panic attack and self-harm, stay safe guys !
> 
> Hellooooooo, here it is! The final chapter, finally, and for my birthday! I'm posting this quickly because I'm already late for my birthday dinner but woah, I wanted to thank you all for having followed this story and leaving me kudos and amazing feedback. It means so much because, well this story also means a lot to me! I'm so in love with it, and I'm kind of sad to let it go but hey, I can be proud of myself, it's actually the first one I complete hahaha.
> 
> Huge, huge thanks to @flying_elliska for beta-ing the whole work and for dealing with my annoying ass on a dayly basis. But you're not getting rid of me now! 🧢🧢🧢 JTM. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the last chapter!!

It's funny, Lucas thinks.

In a way, he was used to certain habits now. Things that he still expects to happen but they never do anymore. 

The first few days, Lucas goes about his life as if nothing ever happened. He goes to work, takes Ouba for long walks, goes out with his friends and when he gets home, he expects to come back to loud music playing next door only to be greeted by complete silence. Each time, he spares a glance to the stack of post-it notes, fingers itching to write down some kind of remark that will get his neighbor's attention. 

And so, he does. 

He writes him notes. 

> _Are you dead?_

> _I'm asking because it's never been so silent before._

> _Kinda like it._

> _You're always so loud, now it just feels like heaven._

> _Oh, well, I just heard your door so I suppose you're not dead_ _._

> _I was about to call the ambulance to make sure._

> _Well, after kicking down your door._

> _I'm not good at CPR though._

> _Or breaking down doors… Seems badass though._

> _Well, thank you for finally understanding that I needed the silence…_

> _Oh, I see what you're doing. You're ignoring me in the hopes that I will break down first, is that it?_

> _Well, that's sad. I'm actually enjoying myself for once._

> _Elias?_

> _Hey, I'm baking and I'm out of sugar. You got some? I knocked but you didn't answer, so…_

> _I'm supposed to get a package today, but seeing as I'm at work… Do you mind collecting it for me?_

All his notes go unanswered and as the days pass and Lucas doesn't hear from Eliott, it finally starts to sink in. And Lucas? Well, Lucas becomes a mess. An angry mess at first. 

It almost feels like when you divorce. Or well, Lucas supposes that's how you feel when you do. Because you get used to a certain routine and then the divorce happens and you suddenly have to start living your life differently. 

What was his life like before Eliott again? 

It seems like it was such a long time ago, and he just doesn't know what to do anymore. Eliott is so close and yet so far away. 

And one day, Lucas wakes up knowing that this was it. He lost what he had with Eliott for good. So, he becomes another type of mess. One he recognizes but doesn't have the strength in himself to stop. He doesn't go out anymore. He texts Arthur to tell him that he won't be coming to work and that he doesn't know when he'll come back because he's sick and needs to rest. 

The only times he goes out it's to take Ouba for a walk, shorter than usual, just around the block and he feels bad for that as she's always excited for their long walks. She must think her human is horrible with her.

He doesn't even go grocery shopping. Instead, he prefers to order in as he doesn't really want to leave the comfort of his home and be around people. 

Speaking of food; Lucas wraps himself up in his soft, thick blanket, not bothering to pause the movie he was watching with hollowness, _Romeo and Juliet,_ and goes to buzz in the Uber Eats guy once a text pops up on his phone saying that he's here with his order. 

He waits for the guy at his front door's frame, taking a step forward into the hallway when the doors of the elevator slide open. 

And he freezes. 

_Eliott._

They both stop and stare. A perfect picture of shocked statues, afraid to blink and startle the other. 

Eliott looks… well, surprisingly good. The usual dark circles beneath his eyes that add to his mysterious look seem more pronounced now but, apart from that, he looks really good. Too good. As if getting rid of Lucas was the best decision of his life and beneficial to his health. Lucas is aware of how disgusting he looks compared to Eliott, he knows he's letting himself go, but… 

"Hi, Lucas!" 

He forces his eyes away from Eliott's to look at the brunette that suddenly appears behind his neighbor. Lucille. 

"Hello," he forces himself to smile. 

She smiles back at him, looking sincere before the silence stretches for a long awkward moment and she starts looking between the two men. 

"Hey, I forgot my glasses in my car. I'll be right back." Lucille tells Eliott, plants a kiss on his cheek and then she turns on her heels and takes the stairs. 

And just like that, they're alone. 

In the background, coming from his apartment, Romeo and Juliet are having a moment. 

_"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?"_

_"What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?"_

_"The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine."_

_"I gave thee mine before thou didst request it!"_

Eliott's eyes trail to Lucas's opened door as if he could see the scene playing from where he stands. And Lucas is selfish. He wants those eyes back on him. He wants Eliott to look at him, and him only. 

_Speak. Say something. Fix whatever you broke._

"Hi, Eliott…" _Stupid._

Eliott startles but he finally looks at Lucas. For a total of a second, but it's enough to leave Lucas breathless. And then, his eyebrows pull together in a frown before he starts moving with quick steps, rushing to his own apartment. 

_Stop him. Apologize. Don't let him go._

"You look–" Lucas doesn't get to finish his sentence. Eliott opens his door frantically and slams it closed so loudly that Lucas flinches. "...good. You look good." He finishes in a whisper. 

"Hello, are you Lucas?" 

Comes a voice from behind him after what feels like an eternity of him staring at Eliott's closed door. He turns around, facing Uber Eats guy. He almost forgot about his order, to be honest.

"Yeah." 

The man smiles, holding out a huge bag. "Here's your ord–" 

"About fucking time." Lucas snarls, taking the bag from him without even bothering to say goodbye as he goes back to his apartment and kicks the door shut. 

Only once he's safe inside his apartment does Lucas drop the bag at his feet and lean heavily against his door. 

He's panting, inhaling and exhaling in short, painful breaths, so rushed that it's making him feel dizzy. His whole body is shaking. He can't breathe. And then, a sob escapes his parted lips and he smacks his hand over them to make it stop. 

_Stop._

_Just stop._

But another follows.

His sight gets blurry as the tears build up and build up, threatening to fall.

So he presses the heels of his hands against his eyes, hard. "Stop crying. Stop. Don't fucking cry. Stop crying, stop crying, stop crying." He repeats the words like a mantra. But the more he says the words, the less his body actually listens. 

His hands get wet, he retracts them. 

_You fucking deserve it._

He should be used to it by now. He thought that he was able to protect himself this time, so why does it still hurt?

Lucas grits his teeth so hard that his jaw aches. He needs to stop crying, he needs – he rolls up the sleeve of his sweater and without much thought, sinks his nails hard into the skin of his forearm. It's not enough, so he presses harder and harder. 

When he stops, little half-moons are marked on his skin. 

_Not enough._

Lucas does it again. Until the little moons turn an angry dark purple color and his skin breaks. 

He can breathe now, so he closes his eyes and does it again on another spot. And when his forearm is fully marked up in tiny moons, he does the same with the other. 

*******

The next day, Lucas is sitting on his sofa, wrapped up in blankets with a box of noodles resting on his lap. There's something playing on his television but he's watching without really seeing. He hears the lock of his front door and under normal circumstances, it would make him panic because no one has his keys, but as it is, he doesn't react. Keeping his empty eyes on the tv screen as he brings a fork full of stale noodles to his mouth. 

Footsteps approach the living room and then, "Oh Lucas…" 

He recognizes Arthur's voice. He sounds sad but Lucas can't bring himself to look at his friend. 

There's a beat of silence and then, he feels the sofa dip next to him. 

"How can you eat while watching SAW?" Arthur asks impressed but Lucas catches the way his friend is forcing himself to sound cheerful.

On the screen of his television, a guy is being sliced open by a pendulum. 

"How did you get in?" His voice sounds monotone, kind of like a robot. Emotionless. 

Arthur pauses and he can feel the weight of his friend's eyes on him. 

"You told me you had a spare key in your mailbox… remember?"

_Oh._

Lucas doesn't reply to that and brings more noodles to his mouth. Before he can though, Arthur grasps his wrist and Lucas winces, letting the fork fall back into the box. 

"What the fuck is this!? Lucas what happened to your–" Arthur tugs his arm closer, inspecting it with sharp eyes, then he lets go of it only to grab the other one. Lucas can't even fight back, he doesn't want to, doesn't even have the strength. 

"I fell." He knows it's a terrible lie, he can't be bothered coming up with anything else. 

Arthur glances up from his inspection, he looks hurt. 

"You fucking idiot!" He yells, voice trembling. Lucas blinks, accepting the insult easily. "That's it," Arthur glares and snatches the noodles from Lucas’s lap, placing it loudly on the coffee table. Then, he turns off the tv before he grabs Lucas's shoulders, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Spill. Tell me everything. Now."

"There's nothing–" 

"Cut the bullshit, Lucas!" 

He looks off to the side, Arthur's confusion and pain are written all over his eyes and Lucas can't look at it knowing he's the one that is hurting his friend. 

The silence stretches for a moment, but Arthur doesn't seem bothered by it. He stays still, waiting. 

"Arthur… Please. I want to stay alone."

"Okay," Lucas is surprised by how easily his friend agreed. "I can't do this on my own." 

What?

Lucas watches as Arthur grabs his phone and starts typing rapidly, sending a text. He then throws the device carelessly on the sofa cushions and stands on his feet, walking up to Lucas’s windows. 

He flinches when his friend pulls the curtains open, letting in the sun. 

"Where's Ouba?" 

"She's…" Lucas sighs. His dog hates him now, avoiding him at all costs and when she's not wandering towards the kitchen to eat or drink, she's sleeping on his bed. "She's in my bedroom. Probably avoiding me."

"Are you feeding her?" 

Lucas glances at him sharply, looking offended. "Of course I'm feeding her!" 

"Oh, emotion. You're not dead, that's good."

Lucas flips him off before he lets himself slide down on the sofa until he's lying and wrapped up in a bundle of blankets. Meanwhile, Arthur lets him be as he starts to clean up around the apartment. 

"Stop. I'll do it later."

Arthur scoffs at that. "Sure, you will." And that's all he says before he proceeds to grab discarded boxes of food to throw them away. 

Lucas can't find it in himself to ask him to stop once again. His friend never listens anyway. 

Minutes later, there's a knock on his door and Lucas watches as Arthur speed-walks to open it. Then there are hushed voices. They may be whispering but Lucas knows who it is. 

Yann and Basile. 

His suspicions are confirmed when his friends appear at the entrance of the living room, looking at Lucas with concerned expressions. 

"What's this?" Lucas rolls his eyes. "I don't need an intervention. I'm fine. Just sick, so if you all could just leave and let me rest."

Yann approaches him first, he doesn't look happy. 

"Sit up." Lucas challenges him with a look but at Yann's silent glare, he finally relents, letting out a frustrated sigh as he moves into a sitting position. His best friend sits down and the longer he assesses him with disappointment, the harder it becomes for Lucas to stop his tears from building up. "You harmed yourself."

Yann doesn't form his sentence as a question but as an affirmation. Lucas's bottom lip starts trembling and he has to look away from him. Basile and Arthur watch the whole scene but stay at a respectful distance, knowing that Yann needs a one on one with Lucas.

"Talk to me, Lucas.

_No._

He just wants to be left alone. 

Lucas stubbornly keeps his eyes on his lap and stays silent. 

"Alright. Guys, can you go pack him a bag?" 

That gets a reaction out of him. 

"What?!" Lucas watches in panic as his friends head up to his bedroom. "Why?" 

"Because you're going to stay with me." 

"No."

"You are Lucas. You're fucking staying with me!" Yann raises his voice in frustration, which well… Yann is never one to lose it and yell at people. He's always composed and calm so, he must be really pissed off. "I can't leave you on your own when you're like that."

"You can't force me to come with you."

"Stop acting like a child!" Yann is full-on yelling now and it makes Lucas flinch, staring at his best friend with big, terrified eyes. 

_Fuck._

Yann takes in a deep breath to calm himself down before he speaks again, lower this time. "I’m sorry... It’s just that last time–” He hesitates, considering his words for a moment. “You did the same shit last time, and we found out too late. I can't leave you like this, okay?" 

Lucas painfully remembers when back then, pinching his skin to blood wasn’t enough anymore, until he found other ways to harm himself. His friends only found out about it weeks later as Lucas always made sure to properly cover himself up. He remembers the look on Yann’s face then, how he had looked devastated, taking all the blame on himself for not noticing sooner that Lucas wasn’t in fact ‘okay’ as he often told his friends.

Lucas never wants to see that look on Yann’s face again, nor have his best friend blame himself for something Lucas did.

“Okay… I’ll come with you.” Lucas says in a whisper, looking down with shame.

A pair of arms wrap around him, bringing him tightly into a warm, muscled chest.

“You’re going to be okay Lucas, I promise. We’re all here for you.” 

Lucas can’t stop himself from crying this time, full-on sobbing into Yann’s chest. And Yann, he never lets go of him, he keeps holding him, not caring that Lucas is ruining his shirt with all his tears.

Basile and Arthur join them, wrapping their own arms around Lucas and making him feel overwhelmed. 

He loves his friends so much, he could never repay them enough for everything they do. Simply dealing with Lucas is already a huge battle you have to come to prepared. They’re warriors for that.

“I love you all so much.”

*******

Ouba seems a lot happier now that they’re at Yann’s as his best friend adores to fuss over his niece. It makes Lucas feel like an asshole. Of course, he didn’t forget about her, he could never. But… he wasn’t considering the fact that his depression could also affect her.

“I’m taking her for a walk, wanna come with?” Yann says as he puts on his jacket, Ouba is already wagging her tail excitedly at the prospect of a long walk.

He doesn’t feel like going anywhere but… well, he needs to at least force himself out of his depressive-state. 

“Yeah…” Yann does a double-take, not having expected Lucas to agree. He probably just asked out of politeness. But then, a smile stretches on his lips, he looks proud, and Lucas can’t help but blush at that. 

Not bothering to change, Lucas stays in his sweatpants and grey romance hoodie as they head outside. Yann stops, glancing at Lucas before he offers the crook of his arm for Lucas to take. 

That makes a smile appear on his face before he reaches out to link their arms together. 

They walk in silence, one that is comfortable and Lucas has to admit that going outside helps a little. He turns his face up to the sky and closes his eyes, enjoying the way the sun caresses his face, warming him up at least on the outside. 

"Hey, I know what we're going to do." Lucas turns to look at Yann and raises an eyebrow.

His best friend doesn't answer though, instead, he smiles, looking giddy as he tugs Lucas along to God knows where. 

They end up on a bench in a park. Ouba is off to bite and bark at flowers and Lucas can't help but smile fondly at that. She really missed being outside. 

"I thought you hated ice-cream," Lucas tells his best friend. 

"Guess I just have a pregnant woman's craving then."

And that makes Lucas burst into laughter, he's totally imagining a pregnant Yann. That's a terrifying image. 

"Hey, I'd be a cute pregnant chick," Yann says, sounding offended and Lucas isn't even surprised about the fact that his best friend knows what Lucas is thinking without him having to say it. 

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. Rounded belly for everyone to pat and coo at." Lucas chuckles but cuts himself short when Yann rubs an ice-cream covered finger down his cheek. "Hey!" He gasps, glaring at his friend in betrayal. 

He's ready to attack when suddenly Ouba starts barking excitedly and running off and away from them.

"Ouba!" Lucas yells after her. He and Yann both stand on their feet to run after her only to stop dead in their tracks. 

Ouba stops near a familiar silhouette, excitedly rounding Eliott's legs. 

Eliott, who has a sketchpad in his hand and a pencil tucked behind his ear. He's looking at them, unreadable expression on his face as his eyes jump from Lucas to Yann and back again. Until he looks down. That's when Lucas realizes that Yann had grabbed his hand to help him on his feet so they could catch up with Ouba. And well… they're currently still holding hands. And of course, to anyone watching the scene, it could only be interpreted in one way. 

Lucas quickly lets go of his best friend. Later he would regret the gesture. Because so what? What if Eliott saw him hold hands with Yann? Why would Lucas feel ashamed about that? 

Eliott looks away from them and down at Ouba, kneeling down to pick her up before he starts walking up to them. With each step he takes, it makes Lucas's heart speed up in his chest, then he stops walking and places Ouba down gently. 

"Thank you," Yann says with a nod before he bends down to put the leash on Ouba. 

"No problem." 

Lucas wasn't expecting to hear Eliott's voice as he completely ignored him last time Lucas tried to talk. But well, he was saying it to Yann. Because Yann was the one that spoke up because Lucas was too much of a coward to do anything else than stand there awkwardly and stare.

"You got ice-cream on your face." 

Lucas startles when Eliott's eyes are suddenly on him. His words taking some time to register, but when they do, Lucas's eyes widen in horror and before he can think of his action, he wipes it away quickly with the sleeve of his favorite sweatshirt. 

_Goddammit._

He's opening his mouth to thank Eliott but never gets the chance to as the other turns around and walks away from them.

"Let's go home?" Yann says softly next to him. 

He takes his eyes away from Eliott's retreating back to look up at his best friend and nods once. 

*******

Yann is cooking for them when Lucas walks into the kitchen. He sits on the counter where there’s a few sliced vegetables and steals a carrot, taking a bite of it.

“I slept with Eliott.” Lucas watches his best friend stop the mixing of the sauce to turn to him, face completely impassible. “You don’t seem surprised,” Yann answers by raising an eyebrow at him, and Lucas gapes. “Y-you… you knew?! How?”

“I even know it was a regular thing.” 

Wow.

“And the guys…”

“They know too,” Yann confirms his suspicions.

“How the fu–" Lucas cuts himself short when he realizes something. “Arthur…”

“Well, yeah and also, you two were really not subtle about it. Dude, I can’t believe you let him give you that many visible hickeys... and you thought we wouldn’t notice? Please, we could see it from a mile away.”

_Holy shit. The hickeys!_

How could he be so stupid?

“And yeah, Arthur told us about you leaving during work and coming back all…” Yann grimaces. “Fucked-out, _his_ words, not mine.”

“Well… that’s embarrassing. Why didn’t you guys say anything?”

“Honestly? It was too funny. Watching you acting like nothing happened and like you still hated Eliott.”

“But I hated him…” Yann, once again raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him and Lucas sighs. “Stop.” The fingers of his free hand tug nervously at the hem of his sweatshirt as he nibbles on his bottom lip, thinking about the words he’s going to say. How to say them. “Yann…” His best friend never took his eyes away from him, knowing that Lucas wanted to talk but giving him all the time he needed to process his thoughts. Lucas was so grateful to have Yann - well, Arthur and Basile too - in his life. “I fucked up.” He finally settles on.

Yann turns off the stove before he comes closer. Lucas smiles when he watches him grab a carrot for himself and take a bite.

“Want to talk about it?” 

He nods. 

“I, well…” Lucas frowns, staring at the wall behind Yann as if it would give him a written speech of what he should say. “I’m… I’m fucking scared.” He didn’t realize that he had tears in his eyes until he felt one roll down his face.

“I know.” Yann is suddenly in front of him. “I know, come here.” Lucas is being engulfed by his best friend’s arms. 

“I didn’t want it!” Lucas breaks down once again and sobs onto Yann’s shoulder. “I tried to p-push it away… It d-didn’t work! And now, now it hurts! And he hates - he hates me!” 

“Shh,” Yann tries to calm him down, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down his back. “Lucas, calm down. He doesn’t hate you, I know he doesn’t.”

“But he does!” Lucas says miserably, voice muffled by Yann’s shirt.

“He doesn’t Lucas. That man is desperately in love with you. Open your eyes, you stubborn idiot. If only you could see what we see.” Yann leans back, cupping Lucas’s face in his hands and forcing him to look into his eyes. “Hey, look at me.” He does, and Yann’s eyes on him look earnest. “Eliott loves you, Lucas. Do you hear me? He loves you... You need to stop being scared, Lu. You need to let go of the past, and fight for your future.”

_I’ll stop running after you._

“But…” Lucas shakes his head slightly. “I can’t, Yann. He’s with Lucille now.”

His friend lets go of his face, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. 

“What?”

“Eliott, he’s dating Lucille.” Fuck, it hurts to say. “She’s been with him a lot lately, I’ve seen and heard her at his place. So… yeah.”

Yann bursts into loud laughter, literally bending over himself and grabbing at his stomach. He’s actually very offended that his best friend is laughing at his misery, thinking it’s that funny.

“Oh, Lucas! Fuck!” Yann says between laughter and when he finally calms down, he looks at Lucas amusedly, forcing his chuckles to not turn into another fit. “They’re not together.”

“Yes, they are.” Lucas frowns. “I saw them!” 

“Lucas,” Yann rolls his eyes at him. “Lucille doesn’t buy what Eliott sells.” 

What?

“She’s gay, Lucas.” His friend sighs in exasperation. 

“B-but… I saw them. She’s always–" _Oh shit._ “Oh shit! I’m an idiot!” 

“Well, that’s not news.”

Lucas ignores his friend because now, he knows that nothing is in the way. Well, except Eliott's hate for him… 

He knows what he has to do.

*******

He stops walking as soon as he arrives in front of his building, taking some time to himself to do some mental pep talk. 

_You can do it._

_Eliott was the one running after you, it's your turn to run now._

_What if it's too late though? Eliott said he couldn't do this anymore, that he was tired…_

_Fuck it._

"Hi, Lucas!" 

He stops just as he was turning on his feet to run back to Yann’s place and spins back around. 

"Hi…" Lucille smiles brightly at him, holding the front door open for him. "Were you, uh… with Eliott?"

She nods and levels him with a curious look. "Yeah, were you looking for him?" Lucas shrugs. 

"I'm not sure he wants to talk to me right now…"

She smiles softly at that. "Dude, you're all he talks about. Just go up there, yeah? And… I don't know, maybe apologize? Fix this."

"He told you what happened?" 

"Of course. He's my best friend, you bet your ass he told me." Lucille closes the door and sits down on the steps, grabbing Lucas's arm and pulling until he sits down next to her. 

_Oh. Okay._

"Listen. I don't know what happened to you that you feel the need to push people away," Lucas gapes at that and Lucille notices, chuckling at his reaction. "I'm a therapist, I can read people." 

Well, that's impressive. They haven't even exchanged that many words. He hasn't seen her more than 5 minutes in total. 

"And well… If you ever need to talk, I'm here. Not necessarily as a professional, I'd like for us to be friends." The corner of his lips curl up slightly. "But as Eliott's best friend, it's my duty to tell you that if you go up there Lucas, it's to fix things up and not hurt him anymore. And as I was saying, I don't know what happened to you that you keep pushing people away but that guy up there, Lucas, he's been crazy about you since the second he laid his eyes on you. I wish you could've been here the very night after your impromptu date. He was devastated because he knew that he wouldn't see you again but he wouldn't shut up. He called me as soon as he got home and told me every single detail of your date. I was sleeping when he called me," Lucille smiles, recalling that night. "And he kept me awake for hours because he wouldn't shut up about how blue your eyes are. Or the way your eyelashes brushed your cheekbones. He told me in detail about every single mole on your face. I literally fell asleep on the phone that night and he was mad at me the next morning because I didn't listen to everything he had to say, so the next day he gave me another detailed report about the date."

_Fuck._

The more Lucille talks, the less Lucas wants to stay still and listen to her. He wants to run up there and kiss Eliott. 

"And then you came back into his life. That game of yours…" She laughs at that and Lucas rolls his eyes. 

"He literally started that mess!" 

"Hm, but you could have asked him to stop…" She shrugs. "You know why he used to sleep with so many people?" Lucas glances at her, worried about her next words. "It started a few weeks after your date. He searched up the city for you at first, he went to every sex-shop in Paris that he could find on google, but guess what? Back then your shop wasn't yet up on the internet." 

That's true, Lucas and Arthur preferred to have their shop get known from people talking about and suggesting it to others. They only recently made a website. 

Finding out that Eliott went through all the sex shops in Paris to find him…

“So, when he realized that he really wasn’t going to see you again, well… let’s say it was a form of comfort? He slept with all of them, but he never found real comfort in any of them. And as for why he is so loud with the music and stuff well, there’s no reason for that, it’s just that he’s like that.” Lucille laughs. “That’s why he moved out of his old apartment. His neighbors couldn’t stand him anymore.” 

_Well, that’s not surprising,_ Lucas’s brain supplies, although he has a smile on his lips.

“He’s really annoying,” Lucas tells her, sounding extremely fond.

“Tell me about it.” She bumps their shoulders together, smiling brightly at him. “Anyway, don’t tell him you know about all of this, he would kill me but I figured you needed to know.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going up there to talk to him, and you needed a pep talk, a real one. Your brain wasn’t doing the job.” 

Lucas laughs at that. 

Fuck, she really knows how to read people.

A girl riding a _badass_ black motorbike stops a few feet from them making Lucille immediately perk up.

“Well, good luck Lucas. Eliott will tell me all about it, but I’ll hopefully see you soon.” She grins and stands on her feet, walking up to the girl on the bike.

Lucas also stands and smiles at the sight of the two girls sharing a sweet kiss.

“Hi, baby,” the girl greets Lucille before she hops up behind her.

With one last wave and a thumbs up from her, Lucille and her girlfriend drive off.

Well… that was something. Lucas wasn’t expecting that at all when he decided to come up here to talk to Eliott, but he’s glad it happened. Lucille seems to be a great girl, Lucas wouldn’t mind being her friend. And she’s right, he really needed that pep talk. He’s ready to face Eliott now.

With one last deep breath, Lucas walks into his building, deciding to take the stairs instead of the elevator in the hopes to delay the moment he’ll see Eliott. He arrives too soon in front of his door anyway. 

_Come on, Lucas. It’s easy, you just have to knock._

Lucas knocks, eyes widening when he realizes he actually did it.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

The door opens way too quickly as if Eliott had been waiting on the other side. When his eyes land on Lucas, he frowns in confusion.

“You’re not Lucille…”

“Uhm, no?” 

Why would Lucille come over when she was here minutes ago and just left? Did she forget something?

“Oh… She just texted me, saying she forgot something.”

“But she just–" 

_Oh._

Oh God, Lucille is a genius.

“What do you want?” Eliott asks, voice cold.

Fuck. Okay, he deserves it but it still hurts.

Lucas clears his throat, nodding slightly before he looks up into Eliott’s eyes. He misses the way his eyes used to be so bright whenever he was looking at Lucas…

“Can we talk?”

“No.”

Eliott starts closing his door but Lucas presses his hand against it, forcing it still before it’s shut on his face.

“Please… Eliott. Just – just…” Lucas inhales sharply. “I need to talk to you, and if you don’t want to see me anymore after that, I’ll go and never bother you again.” Eliott considers him for a moment. “I promise.”

“Fine.” 

Lucas could cry from happiness when Eliott starts to loosen his hold on the door and step aside to let him in. 

“Thank you…” He says in an exhale, taking a step forward and into the apartment. 

_Okay, Lucas. You made it. Now, what ? Where to start?_

The door clicks shut behind him and then, there’s only silence and Eliott’s presence at his back.

Starting with honesty should work.

He slowly turns to Eliott who has his eyes on him, searching but guarded, jaw set, body tense. Lucas can see that Eliott is trying to keep the walls he built up intact. As if no matter what Lucas has to say, he will keep a distance between them.

Fuck. He really hurt him, didn’t he?

“Uhm… where do you want–”

“Kitchen. I was cooking so, you either say whatever you have to say while I finish, or don’t say it at all, which means you can leave.”

Lucas tries to ignore the way his heart clenches at Eliott’s words. He’s never been so…

“Okay… the kitchen it is then.”

He hoped they could have this conversation in a different setting. That he would get Eliott’s full attention but, if it’s the best he could get, he’ll take it. 

Eliott walks ahead of him, finding his spot behind the stove and keeping his back on Lucas who is trying hard to not panic and run away. 

"What are you making…?" Lucas tries, in the hopes to ease off the awkward silence. 

"Soup."

But he's– 

Lucas blinks in confusion as he watches Eliott chop off a kiwi in small squares before he adds it into the pan. 

_Uh._

"Are you adding kiwi to your soup?" He can't help but ask in bemusement. 

Eliott places down his knife and turns to Lucas, a deep frown on his face.

"You didn't come here to talk about food, so go ahead. Talk."

Lucas stares, gaping at the taller man for a second. "Alright…" His eyebrows twitch slightly before he gestures to the table. "Can we sit?" 

"Be my guest."

He wants to cry. This isn't the Eliott he knows. He was never this cold before. Fuck, Lucas can only blame himself for that anyway. 

He sits down on a chair but Eliott stays standing, leaning against his counter, arms crossed as he keeps his eyes on Lucas. 

"I wanted to start by apologizing to you…" Lucas swallows around the lump in his throat. "I shouldn't have treated you like that–"

"You mean like a walking penis?" Eliott cuts him off with a scoff. "I was only here for that right? That's all you ever wanted from me."

"That's not–" 

"What? True? That's not true?" Lucas has to blink hard to keep the tears at bay. "You never gave me a reason to believe you wanted more than sex, Lucas. All you did was reject me when I tried to get closer to you – when I tried to give you more than just my dick. You'd get off and run away just as fast!" 

"Eliott, you need to understand–" 

"But there's nothing to understand here, Lucas! You used me, period." A pause and then, "Stop crying."

_He's not._

Tears roll down his cheeks. 

_He is. He is crying. Fuck._

Lucas quickly wipes them away, looking anywhere but at the man that is lashing out on him. 

"Anything else?" His voice comes out hoarse. "Go on, I'm sure you're not finished."

"You knew how I felt for you. And don't even say you didn't, you're a smart man, Lucas. You saw the drawings. And for a moment, I let myself believe that you felt the same way because I was trying to read between the lines. But as you said, there's not between the lines to read. This was just all a game to you. A distraction from your boring little life. But I'm done playing, I've been done with this game for a while now."

Lucas lets out an unamused laugh. 

"You're a hypocrite." _Fuck, this conversation isn't going the way it was supposed to go._ "You say you've been done with this game for a while, easier to put all the blame on me, huh? And yet you didn't stop sleeping with others, making as much noise as possible to get my fucking attention."

"I haven't slept with anyone since it started between us!" Eliott suddenly yells, losing it. 

"Because I have?!" Lucas yells back. 

He won't sit here and let Eliott put all the blame on him. Sure, Lucas had fucked up big time, but Eliott kept up with the game too. They're both in the wrong about that. Lucas takes full responsibility for the rejection part, but the rest is on the both of them. 

Eliott shrugs, and Lucas's blood turns cold before he even speaks up. "How the fuck should I know? If you used me for my dick, I wouldn't be surprised that there are others on the side."

And fuck, that hurts. 

He knows he hurt Eliott and that he's probably, or Lucas hopes, that he's only being mean as a form of protection. But if Eliott really thinks that of him… 

“Yeah, I guess that’s what you think of me,” Lucas says in a calmer tone, trying hard but failing to show how Eliott’s words hurt him. “Can I speak now?” When Eliott doesn’t answer and simply keeps looking at him with an unreadable expression, Lucas speaks up anyway.

“I’m scared to let people in.” Here we go, this is it. “People always leave me. My friends may say that they won’t but I still don’t believe it.” A small sad smile stretches on his lips as Lucas keeps his eyes focused on his fingers that he keeps playing with nervously. “It’s only a matter of time before they leave me too… So, to protect myself from the pain of watching people go, I don’t let anyone in. It started with my father. I was 16 when I came home one day after school, to find my mom having a breakdown. All of his stuff–” Lucas gestures around as if he was back there and could show Eliott the near emptiness of his old house. “It was gone…”

“Lucas…” Eliott speaks up softly but Lucas shakes his head, still refusing to meet his eyes.

“No. Let me finish... Please.” Eliott doesn’t say anything so Lucas continues. “I didn’t know what to do, my mom wouldn’t stop crying and nothing would calm her down. I had never seen her cry so hard before… she used to be so strong, but _that man_ , he ruined her. I tried to call him because I thought – if he could just come back if only to help calm her down… but also, to give us an explanation… but he never answered his phone. My mom only stopped crying when she fell asleep, exhausted from all the tears. Then her mental health started to deteriorate… I’d often find her in the kitchen, cooking and preparing the table for a candlelit dinner. She’d ask me if I could go to Yann’s because she and my dad had a date night planned. It was all in her head… He never came back. Not even after the daily voice messages I left him, begging him to come back home. Then, her hallucinations became worse, she’d be talking to me and suddenly bring in my dad into the conversation, as if she was having a chat with the two of us. As if he was in the same room… I didn’t know what to do anymore, I was scared for her while I was at school… so, I did what I thought would be best for her safety. She got admitted into a psychiatric ward after I was able to find myself a part-time job on the side to pay for her stay. And I was completely alone. I gave up on trying to reach out to my dad, it finally sank in that he wouldn’t ever come back and I wouldn’t hear from him again. Later on, I learned that he had left me and my mom for a younger girlfriend that he had gotten pregnant when he was still with my mother…” 

“Then, Jonathan came into my life. Our relationship started off slow. _Really slow_. Back then, I didn’t understand why I was so reluctant to get myself into a real relationship, especially because he was so patient with me and caring. He gave me all the time I needed so, after making him wait for months, I finally gave our relationship a chance. It was great in the beginning, but then he got a job as some CEO's PA and he was always busy so we started seeing each other less. That’s when you appeared out of nowhere,” Lucas looks up from his fingers, meeting Eliott’s eyes. He notices that they’re no longer cold now, there’s a layer of sadness there. “that night, I let myself forget about my boyfriend who was supposed to be the one I was having dinner with. I felt… some sort of connection to you. I don’t know how to explain it, but your mere presence made me forget how lungs are supposed to function. But then, I panicked when you asked for my number. A part of me knew that if I gave it to you, we would see each other again, most likely start something in secret and… I just couldn’t. I still had hope for my relationship with Jonathan and I couldn’t be like my father and cheat on the person I’m with… the mere thought of it repulses me, Eliott. Even that dinner we had made me feel guilty. But don’t think for even a second that leaving you behind that night wasn’t one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.”

“When the days passed by and all my messages and calls to Jonathan were left unanswered, I started to panic and imagining the worst. I literally thought he got kidnapped or that he had an accident and was dead somewhere. So I called his mother, asking if she had heard of him.” Lucas scoffs, “She told me he had moved out of the country. Lives in Japan now. Got a better job offer. He never told me about it, never even mentioned anything… he just left. No message, nothing. Didn’t even have the guts to break-up with me. I never got my closure after that relationship. It just destroyed me from the inside, because someone else had left me without a single word… doing a repeat of what happened with my father. Except that this time, I didn’t have my mother around to think of… I had no one. It was just me and my thoughts. And that's why I started to build up more walls around me, to protect myself, I guess… I'm sorry for the way I treated you. You didn't deserve to be used the way I… – I was scared, Eliott. So fucking terrified. I'm sorry…"

Lucas shrugs, trying to look nonchalant about such a heavy subject and looks up into Eliott’s eyes, forcing a smile on his trembling lips that he’s certain he failed to accomplish if the look Eliott offers him is anything to go by.

He looks perturbed and Lucas is quick to drop his attempt of a smile the longer Eliott looks at him in silence. He wonders what the other man is thinking about. Is he mad because Lucas dropped that bomb on him? Does he think he’s lying and making up excuses? 

Eliott breaks the eye-contact, his expression instantly turning to alarming.

“Lucas… I didn’t – fuck. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean what I said before… you know about–”

“It’s okay, Eliott.” He smiles sadly. “I understand why you would think that of me.”

“But I don’t! I don’t think that of you…” Eliott is quick to say, taking a step forward that he’s quick to abort, unsure about coming closer or not. He runs his long fingers through his messy hair and takes in a deep breath. “Well… this makes sense, explains why you pushed me away.”

“I didn’t… I didn’t want to. I mean, I did–" Why is this so hard? “I’m scared… of you more than anyone else.” Eliott’s lips part in surprise. “You make me feel things… things that I’ve never felt before. It’s terrifying.”

“And…” Lucas stares like a deer caught in the headlights as Eliott finally decides to step closer, so close that he has to tilt his head back to keep the eye-contact. “If I told you I won’t leave you?” His eyes fall shut when Eliott presses the tip of his fingers against his cheek, brushing the skin softly that it makes goosebumps spread all over his body.

“I would lie... and say I trust you.” Lucas murmurs.

“And if I showed you?” A thumb traces his lips, making Lucas unconsciously part them.

“I would say that’s empty words…”

“I could spend a very long time proving it to you.” The fingers trail down his jaw.

“I’m a lot to deal with…”

“Good, so am I.” Eliott rests his fingers beneath his chin, tilting it up slightly. “Please, open your eyes… Let me look at you.”

This time, Lucas easily obeys. His eyes open slowly and he finds himself drowning into the depths of Eliott’s stare on him. He’s closer now, much closer, only a few inches are separating them. Lucas’s heart skips a beat in his chest when Eliott stares and stares, searching his eyes for an interminable moment. 

_Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me._

“I’m going to kiss you,” Eliott whispers into the silence that took place between them.

“Yes, please!” 

A chuckle escapes Eliott’s lips at the desperation of Lucas’s answer. And, god, his eyes are back to their usual brightness, crinkled in little half-moons that Lucas aches to kiss.

Eliott doesn’t crush their lips together like they always do. He takes his sweet time, inching forward at a snail’s pace and brushing the tip of their noses together. Lucas is slowly losing his mind the more he has to wait, and then Eliott finally moves in, closer and closer. And… he runs his parted lips across Lucas’s needy ones before he pulls back, laughing when Lucas lets out a frustrated groan.

“Eliott, please…”

Thankfully, he doesn’t have to beg any more. Eliott closes the distance between them and _finally_ , captures his lips in a kiss. So slow and gentle but it leaves Lucas achingly breathless anyway. It’s a kiss that feels like returning home after a long time of absence. A kiss that feels like an oasis in the desert after days and days of thirst. A kiss that makes him forget about time and space, and he only lands back on earth when Eliott slowly breaks it.

“Wow… This is–”

“Better than when we kiss angrily?” Lucas supplies, just as breathless as Eliott sounds.

“Yeah, fuck,” Eliott agrees before he places another gentle kiss on Lucas’s lips. “Please, stay with me today?”

Lucas is nodding before Eliott can even finish asking the question. Honestly, he’s ready to stay with Eliott forever.

_Until he leaves you too._

He pushes that thought away quickly. 

“Yeah, I’ll stay with you. We still have a lot to talk about anyway.”

*******

They had to order pizza because, to the surprise of no one, it turns out Eliott is a terrible cook. Well, when you add kiwi to your soup… Lucas still tasted it. Eliott was giving him those big puppy eyes of his and holding out the spoon to his lips and well, Lucas is really a sucker for Eliott, isn’t he? So he tasted it, spat it out just as quickly as it touched his taste buds and forced Eliott to throw out the rest of the pan.

“ _Stop being dramatic, I’m sure it’s good!_ ” He had said before swallowing a full-spoon himself and grimacing as he did. “ _Okay… I’m throwing it away._ ”

Now, they’re sitting on Eliott’s couch, crossed-legged and facing each other with the box of pizza opened between them.

“So did you watch it?” Eliott asks, unconsciously holding out his slice of pizza when Lucas reaches to pluck out an olive and pops it into his mouth.

“Hm?”

“Sense8. Did you watch it like you said you would?”

Lucas blinks, slowing down his chewing as Eliott looks at him expectantly. 

It’s been months… Lucas’s heart picks up a fast speed in his chest because _wow_! Eliott still remembers that part of their conversation back on their date.

“Yeah,” He grins and just because now he can, he grabs Eliott by the collar of his t-shirt and tugs him forward to kiss his sauce-stained lips. “I watched it.” He adds when he breaks the kiss but Eliott lets his slice of pizza fall down into the box and grabs his face to kiss him again.

Lucas giggles at the attack and leans back, forcing Eliott to grab his face harder and press more kisses on his lips.

“Ew, stop. You’re disgusting Eliott, you have sauce all over your lips!” Lucas says between laughter and it only makes the other start kissing all over Lucas’s face, rubbing off the sauce on him.

“Look who needs a shower now,” Eliott says triumphantly, eyes shining with mirth when he finally pulls back to let Lucas breathe.

Lucas pouts at that. “Thank God my apartment is right next door.”

The box between them is thrown over the coffee table and then Lucas finds himself being hostage by Eliott’s arms wrapping tightly around his middle and bringing him onto his lap.

“Nope, you said you weren’t leaving me today.” He presses small kisses across Lucas’s neck, making him lean against the chest pressed up to his back and tilt his head to the side to give more access to Eliott’s lips. “And what a coincidence, I have a shower here.”

“That really is a coincidence. I need to take a shower and you just happen to have one.” Lucas teases, voice full of sarcasm and amusement.

“Right? That’s so weird... You should just use it. Hey, tell you what, I need one too. But, seeing as I’m a big ecologist guy, you wouldn’t mind sharing the space with me, would you? Save water and all that.”

Lucas can’t help but chuckle. 

_Dammit, Eliott is too cute._

“Well, if I can help you save the planet by saving up water…”

“Hm-mhm,” Eliott nods – rubs his face like a cat – against his neck. “Let’s go then,” he adds and presses one last kiss over the accessible skin.

They move to the bathroom and Eliott turns on the faucet, letting the water run so it warms up before they step inside. 

"That's not very green of you…" Lucas teases and Eliott turns to glance at him, looking offended. 

"Fuck, you're right."

That's all he says before he pounces, grabbing Lucas without warning and picking him up. Lucas wraps his arms around his neck, crosses his legs at his waist and lets out a delighted laugh that soon turns into a gasp when Eliott steps into the shower and brings them beneath the cold running water, clothes and all. 

"Eliott!" Lucas squirms in his hold. 

Their clothes soak up quickly, sticking to their skin and it's a very uncomfortable feeling but Lucas is willing to push the feeling away when Eliott's laugh gets all of his attention.

It's the most beautiful sound he's ever heard.

"Is this better then?" Eliott asks with the cutest grin that Lucas can't resist but to kiss.

"At least put me down so I can get off my clothes? It's getting uncomfortable…"

Eliott carefully puts him down. 

"My – do you mean… You're going to get naked? Like – _naked_ , naked?" 

Lucas chuckles at Eliott's pretended shocked expression and shoves him off gently. 

"It's nothing you haven't seen before." 

He raises a challenging eyebrow before he starts to shed his clothes, enjoying the way it makes Eliott instantly fall silent and stare at him, eyes turning darker with each discarded layer. 

"Lost that smart tongue of yours?" Lucas asks with a smirk when he stands there fully naked. 

"You're beautiful," Eliott breathes out, making him flush all the way down to his chest. "have I ever told you that?" 

"You have…"

"Well, I'll keep reminding you every day."

His breath hitches when Eliott follows suit and gets naked before he grabs Lucas by the hips and pulls him closer, under the faucet where the water is now warm and soothing. 

"So pretty," Eliott runs his fingers through Lucas's hair, pulling it back from his eyes and leaves a hand at the back of his head, the other gripping his hip before he leans in and presses open-mouthed kisses across Lucas's shoulder. 

Lucas can do nothing but stand there, eyes falling shut as he gets lost on Eliott's gentle touch on him. 

The kisses slowly trail up the arch of his neck until he reaches his lips and - Lucas laughs when Eliott playfully traces his tongue across his lips and pulls back with a grin.

“Let’s wash up,” Lucas tells him, searching for the shower gel that he’s quick to find. 

Eliott takes it from him and Lucas glances up at him curiously through his now wet lashes.

“Can I wash you?” 

It’s asked so adorably that all the jokes coming up to his mind die instantly. How can he refuse those big puppy eyes anything? He’s pretty sure Eliott’s parents most likely had a hard time saying _no_ to their son when he was a kid. 

Lucas nods and is rewarded by the biggest smile. As if he had just agreed to offer Eliott all the stars in the universe. 

He watches as Eliott squirts the product on his hand, puts down the bottle then gently presses his palm right on Lucas’s left pec, above his beating heart. Their eyes meet when his body breaks out in goosebumps from the contrast of the warm water and cold shower gel. 

Then, Eliott runs his hand down, his eyes following the path his hand takes on Lucas's body as Lucas keeps his own eyes Eliott's face. He's adorable when he's focused, rubbing his hand in circles until it creates a thick, white foam. 

"You're so cute." 

Eliott's eyes snap up at Lucas's words, a beautiful dark shade of red spreading over his cheeks. 

"Stop," Eliott chuckles, definitely sounding nervous. 

Lucas can't help himself. He cups Eliott's cheeks and pulls him down to press a soft kiss on his lips. 

"Or what?" Eliott levels him with a look. "Hey, I'm allowed to compliment you too."

"Alright," He chuckles, starting to rub Lucas's shoulders and down to the tip of his fingers. "But you're cuter."

"What's this, are we really going to fight over this who is the cutest?" Lucas rolls his eyes in exasperation but with each passing second of Eliott washing his body with a gentle touch, he feels his body relax. 

"No, of course not. Just accept that you're cuter so we can change the subject and move on."

"Are you 12?"

"Now that's outright scandalous, Lucas. With the things we have done before how can you even say –" 

"Alright, alright! Stop." Lucas grimaces and smacks his hand over Eliott's lips, glaring when the other starts laughing. "You're annoying…" A sigh escapes his lips as he slowly retracts his hand. 

"But you like me." 

_Probably more._

Lucas doesn't get to answer because then, Eliott is pressing him up against his chest. Hands sliding to wash down his back, fingers trailing over the bumps of his spine and – fuck. Why is Eliott doing it like this? He couldn't just turn him around? Now their proximity, the way Eliott is holding him in a near hug, arms caging Lucas against him and flexing from the circular movements of his hands… 

Well, Lucas stays a man. Weak and vulnerable. Of course, his body reacts and Eliott doesn't even make it easy on him when his hands move down again, mapping out his lower back. And… _down again._

Lucas lets out a shuddering breath and presses his forehead right in the middle of Eliott's chest, when the taller man grabs his ass. 

"Eliott…" He whimpers softly, biting his bottom lip to stifle the noise. His arms wrap around Eliott's middle, fingers unconsciously digging on the skin of his back when Eliott dips the tip of a finger down his cleft. 

That's all it takes to have him hardening against Eliott and he knows he can't hide it because of the way they're pressed up against each other. 

He's ready to beg when suddenly Eliott lets go of him, taking a step back and leaving him cold and shivering. Lucas feels exposed, Eliott's eyes trail down his body slowly like an invisible caress and Lucas doesn't miss how they turn darker and heavier. 

"Fuck, you're so beautiful." Eliott whispers and Lucas isn't sure if he's saying the words to him or whispering them to himself. 

His lungs cease to function the second Eliott slowly drops down on his knees, wraps his long fingers around the back of Lucas's thighs and leans in to press a kiss on his hip. 

" _Tellement beau,_ " He murmurs against his skin, nipping it softly before he starts to trail kisses across Lucas's pelvis until he reaches his other hip. " _et rien qu'à moi, comme je suis à toi._ "

Lucas's heart hammers in his chest, beating so fast that it's making him lightheaded and pretty sure he's going to pass out if Eliott doesn't stop saying things like that. 

He licks his dried lips before he speaks up, voice rough. "Promise…" 

Eliott looks up through his long lashes, meeting his eyes as a soft smile tugs on his lips. He lets go of Lucas's thigh and reach out to take his hand, intertwining their fingers in a secure hold. 

"I promise."

His eyes fill up with tears that Lucas is quick to blink away when Eliott looks down at his cock before glancing up at him again and lean forward as he lets go of his other thigh to wrap his fingers around Lucas's length. He stutters out a breath, and squeezes the fingers that are still linked with his when Eliott places one single kiss at the tip of his dripping cock. 

_Now he's definitely going to pass out._

They have done this so many times before and yet, right now, it feels different. Eliott's touch on him is so tender, so loving, it's – it's overwhelming that's what it is. Lucas has never been touched like this before, as if he was something worth to worship… 

He's taken by surprise when Eliott suddenly drags his tongue up the length, circling the tip before he wraps his lips around him and sinks down. 

Lucas can't hold back the moan that escapes his throat as his eyes fall shut and he throws his head back. He's pretty sure his legs give out and the only reason why he's still standing on his feet is because Eliott was anticipating and reacted fast by gripping his hip tightly. 

He has no idea how it's possible but it's like the feeling is intensified. He's had Eliott's mouth on him before but this time, Lucas is afraid his heart is going to give out with how fast his heart is racing in his chest. The previous times they did this, Lucas never focused on anything else other than getting off and fast because well, a mouth around his dick always feels good. But now, it's more – it's so much more. Eliott's lips hold him in a tight, visceral grip, warm and velvet. His tongue is soft and coated in saliva that drips down Lucas's cock. 

Eliott pulls back with a smacking sound and licks his lips. 

"You always taste so good." 

And that's all he says before he takes Lucas in his mouth again, bobbing his head slowly as he keeps his eyes locked on Lucas's who is looking back at him with wide eyes and lips parted as he pants, trying to fill up his lungs with oxygen but it never seems enough. 

Eliott hums around him, the vibration sending a lick of sparks up his spine. Lucas notices how his arm flexes and it takes him a moment to understand that Eliott is touching himself too. 

"Fuck, baby…" Lucas whimpers and runs his fingers through Eliott's wet hair, pulling it back from his eyes so it doesn't get in the way of their intense staring. 

A surge of possessiveness spreads over his body in that moment. He doesn't want Eliott to look at anyone else ever again. Those eyes are too beautiful, too… enchanting. No one but him should be looked at by those eyes. 

Eliott closes them for a second and it's a second too long. 

"Open your eyes, look at me…" His breath is punched out of his lungs when Eliott blinks them open to look up at him again. "Never stop looking at me…"

Lucas can tell it's not easy. Water keeps hitting down on them and droplets catch on Eliott's lids. Lucas knows he wants to blink them away but he pushes through the urge and keeps his eyes opened and locked on Lucas's the whole time he keeps bobbing his head, taking him deeper each time. 

_I think I'm in love with you._

It's with that thought, the words nearly stumbling out of his mouth that Lucas comes into Eliott's awaiting mouth, thankfully only shouting his name and not the other words he's dying to say. 

Eliott swallows, hand working faster on himself and it only takes a few more tugs before he sees him shudder, Lucas's spent cock still in his mouth as he lets out a muffled moan. 

Lucas pulls himself out of Eliott's mouth and drops down on his knees, cupping his flushed face in his hands and capturing his lips in a deep kiss. He can taste himself on Eliott's tongue but he doesn't mind. 

He loves Eliott. He loves him unconditionally. 

*******

After their shower, they don’t bother dressing up and move to Eliott’s bed, laying on their sides and passing the time switching between cuddling and making out until they both fall asleep. Lucas thinks he only naps for an hour before he wakes up.

Eliott is still sleeping peacefully and looking like an angel. He’s stretched out on his stomach on the mattress, arms tucked beneath his pillow, white sheets barely covering his naked body. Lucas can’t tear his eyes away from him, can barely blink, afraid that if he does, Eliott will disappear, that all of this was just a trick from his imagination.

The thought of it… that this is all in his head, it hurts. It fills his body with anxiety and Lucas feels the need to reach out and touch, make sure this isn’t a dream.

_It’s real. It’s real. He’s really here._

His finger trails down the skin of Eliott’s back, slowly as he doesn’t want to wake him up. Lucas finds himself fascinated by the moles on his milky skin, connecting them together with an invisible string. Imagining how beautiful it would look if he grabbed a pen right now and made those invisible lines into real ones.

“What are you doing?”

Lucas startles at Eliott’s hoarse voice, muffled by the pillow.

Shit. He woke him up.

He pulls his finger back guiltily and looks at the side of Eliott’s face. He can make out the small smile on his lips, even in the darkness of the room as they didn’t bother opening the curtain, wanting to stay wrapped up in their own little bubble, away from the world.

“Nothing.” Lucas whispers, “I didn’t mean to wake you up, I’m sorry. Go back to sleep.”

“Come here.”

Eliott stretches out his arm, raising it slightly in a silent request and Lucas melts completely on the inside. He scoots closer and lays down, body pressed closely against Eliott, and face underneath his chin as they share the same pillow. Eliott wraps his arm around him and Lucas sighs before he presses a gentle kiss on his collar bone.

“Will you be here when I wake up?” Eliott mumbles from above, lips brushing at the top of Lucas’s head.

_Yes, my angel, I will be here. I’m not going anywhere. And you?_

“I told you I’m staying with you,” Lucas closes his eyes. “Sleep, baby. I will be here.” 

*******

The next time they wake up, they are still pressed up tightly in an embrace, legs entwined and not a single inch of them isn't touching the other's skin. Lucas feels warm both inside and out. Being this close to Eliott, well it certainly helps to keep the thoughts of abandonment away. For now. He knows they will come back full force once their time together is over. 

Lucas hums happily when Eliott starts tracing undefined patterns on his back with the tip of his fingers. 

"The drawings…" Lucas starts with uncertainty, "Uhm, the sketchbook."

"Yeah?" 

He can feel Eliott's eyes boring curiously at the top of his head. 

"On the first page you… you wrote _In another parallel universe._ " Lucas wonders if Eliott believes in them too. Infinite universes where an infinite Lucases and Eliotts are together. "Do you believe in that theory?" 

"I didn't," _past tense._ "but, on the night of our date, when you left me, you said that in another parallel universe, there was a Lucas that didn't hesitate to give his number to Eliott. I spent the night – well, after annoying Lucy for hours on the phone about you, I spent the rest of it looking up the theories. I'll admit I was a bit freaked out at first." Lucas huffs out a laugh at that. "The possibility that there are other us out there, well it was overwhelming. But the more I read, the more I thought that theory was beautiful. It gave me hope, knowing that there could be an infinite Eliotts that even though they made different decisions from me, they're happy or they will be when they find their Lucas. I refuse to believe that in any universe I don't find you."

Lucas tilts his head back to look up into Eliott's eyes. Eliott is already staring down at him, eyes soft and sincere. If only he could stop time and stay in this moment forever. 

"I think I… I, I think–" 

Lucas swallows around the lump in his throat. The words struggle to come out of his mouth, but as if he could read his thoughts, Eliott smiles softly and inches down. 

"Yes," He captures their lips in a tender kiss and whispers into them, "me too, Lucas."

Lucas has to control himself to not cry from happiness.

They kiss again and it soon turns deep and passionate with their legs crossing together tightly, hands roaming across every inch of skin and making their bodies respond quickly to the other’s touch. Eliott grabs his waist and rolls them over until Lucas takes the hint and straddles his hips. They’re both hard but they are in no rush to attend to that, preferring to take their time kissing and exploring, _really_ exploring each other’s body as they never really did that before, and were always rushing things.

Eliott is kissing down his jawline, hands spreading on the curve of Lucas’s ass when he speaks up.

“You think there’s a parallel universe where we are mobsters?”

That makes Eliott stop the exploration of his lips and lean back against the pillow to look amusedly up at Lucas. “Where is that idea coming from?”

Lucas shrugs. “I had a dream the other day… I was in jail and you were my lawyer and we were hooked for each other the very second you entered the room. The reason I was there was because I had stolen diamonds apparently but well, long story short, you got me out of jail in a very Romeo and Juliet way and then we ended up going undercover to a mobster organization so you could be trained to be the heir of said organization and replace their old wrinkly boss.”

The more Lucas says, the bigger the grin on Eliott’s face becomes. “What? Is your subconscious trying to tell you something?” He runs his nails slowly along Lucas’s spine, making the younger shiver and arch into the touch. “Does danger turn you on, baby?”

“Mm, I don’t know. I think it’s just you, no matter the setting.”

Eliott laughs and Lucas gets completely fascinated by the sound. It’s beautiful, it could probably cure cancer. 

_Oh, Lucas is really gone on that man._

The room turns darker as the sun starts to set outside and time is consumed by shared kisses and slow, passionate lovemaking. Once, twice, they lose count, too lost in each other to care. Hands are held, breaths are swallowed, hearts are joint and souls get sewed together.

When they fall back on the mattress from exhaustion but still unable to sleep, they take some time to clean each other up and catch their breaths before they move to the living room. Eliott opens the window then lights up a cigarette that they share. They haven’t bothered putting on clothes as it’s 4 in the morning and their street is silent because normal people sleep at 4 am. Lucas sits, ass bare on the windowsill and spreads his legs when Eliott moves to stand between them. He watches as Eliott takes a long drag of the cigarette, never taking his eyes away from him. He’s looking at Lucas so intently, eyes wandering all over his face that it’s making a blush creep up on his cheeks. He breaks the eye-contact and shily tilts his head to the side until it presses against the sidewall. 

“The moon loves you.” 

“What?” Lucas chuckles at the ridiculousness of Eliott’s words.

“Her light shining on your skin… fuck, Lucas, you’re beautiful.”

And there he is, back with his intense eyes on him, always making that spark of electricity rush through his veins. He’s the one that feels ridiculous for laughing now. Eliott always has a way to leave him there, completely unable to speak or even breathe. 

“Shut up.”

Eliott grins at that and leans in, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to his lips before he pulls back at replaces his lips with the cigarette, placing it between Lucas’s parted ones. Lucas takes a drag, watching curiously as Eliott pulls back completely and starts walking up towards his stereo.

“What are you doing?” Lucas asks, smoke falling out of his mouth. 

“Putting on some music,” Eliott simply says as he turns on the radio and starts searching for a station. 

He stops when he finds one with a song that is ending and soon after another one starts up. 

Eliott spins around, a bright smile on his face as he starts singing the lyrics and approaching Lucas almost predatorily. 

“Oh my, my, my, what you do to me?” Lucas can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all but that doesn’t deter Eliott, who keeps coming closer. “Like lightning when I’m swimming in the sea. From the very first time we loved.” Eliott is taking his spot back between his legs. “From the very first time we touched.” He brushes the tip of his fingers lightly across Lucas’s arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind.

“Don’t you know this song?” Eliott asks him, overdoing the whole dramatic gasp and shocked expression.

_He’s ridiculous. I think I love him._

“I do,” Lucas sighs and rolls his eyes when Eliott grins happily at that.

“Good, then sing with me!” He takes the cigarette from Lucas’s hand, putting it out on the ashtray before he grabs both his hands and pulls him along to the middle of the living room. “ Oh, Lord, have mercy, I'm begging you, please! I'm feeling drained, I need love ! - Your turn.”

Lucas laughs before he mumbles out the next part, “ You charge me up like electricity. Jump-start my heart with your love.”

“That won’t do, sing louder!” Eliott encourages and starts to swing them around in an uncoordinated dance as he sings-yells out the next part, “There’s an energy! When you hold me! When you touch me! It’s so powerful!” 

_Fuck it._

Lucas falls back into Eliott’s arms, cheeks hurting from how much he’s smiling as he starts to sing back the lyrics. “I can feel it!” Eliott laughs, reaching out for his leg and hooking it over his hip. “When you hold me!" A yelp escapes his lips when Eliott bows him back suddenly. "When you touch me, it’s so powerful!”

Their duet would probably look absurd if anyone were to witness it, they're goofing around completely naked after all… But they’re both lost in the moment, laughing and dancing around as they sing louder and louder to the song. And the more they sing, the more Lucas realizes how well this song actually fits them. They're totally a mess. 

*******

"Eliott, what are we doing here?" Lucas asks confusedly an hour later, as they approach a creepy looking door. They're holding hands and Lucas can't stop staring at their intertwined fingers, how Eliott's veiny hand looks much bigger than his. 

Eliott turns to him, a mysterious smile playing on his lips and his only answer to Lucas's question is to raise his eyebrows in challenge before he turns back to the door, types up the code - because he apparently knows the code - opens the door after it buzzes and tugs Lucas inside. 

As soon as they step into the dark place, Lucas smiles at the soft, muffled beat playing throughout the place. They couldn't hear any music from outside which means that this place is well soundproofed. Lucas looks around, but there's nothing to see. They're in an empty hallway and it's dark except for the red tamed lights. 

"Is this a clandestine bar?" He can't help but wonder out loud. 

Eliott laughs, the red lights on him make him look like a sinful temptation. A little demon. _He looked like an angel just a few hours ago and now you're comparing him to a demon,_ Lucas's brain supplies. 

"You really are into danger, hm?" _Huh._ "It's not a clandestine bar, just… let's say not that many people know about it."

"How come you do?" 

"I know the owners. I was in college with one of them," Eliott shrugs before he tilts his head towards a door at the end of the hallway. "Shall we?" 

_I'd follow you anywhere._

"Hm, well… It's no clandestine bar, the initial excitement just disappeared but alright, if we must." Lucas teases and Eliott chuckles, shaking his head a little in exasperation. 

He guides them down towards the door at the end of the hallway, and when he pushes it open, Lucas’s jaw drops at what he sees inside. 

“Eliott…” 

A whip sound cracks through the music followed by a deep muffled moan. 

_What the hell…_

There’s a cage. Well, not just a cage. There’s literally a girl inside, attached at the wrists and ankles, ball gag in her mouth and red marks all over her naked body. Behind her, another woman stands there, black short bob-cut, lips as red as blood. She has one hand spread over the girl’s belly, the other one holding a riding crop. She whispers something into the girl’s ear that makes her whimper before the woman smacks the riding crop across the girl’s – well… 

_It’s beautiful._

Part of him feels ashamed to be so openly staring at the couple currently having a real intimate moment, but he can’t bring himself to stop. They look really gorgeous together. The way they trust each other, how they move in sync. And well, he’s not the only one that is looking. A crowd sits there, watching the show avidly. And now that Lucas is paying attention to the crowd, he notices how some are sitting on comfy chairs, a few kneeling at their feet and others sitting on their partner’s lap. Most importantly, he sees how many of them are missing clothes. 

_Holy shit, Eliott brought him to a sex club._

“Oh my God!” Lucas hears someone screech from behind them. “Eliott! What are you doing here?” 

He’s forced to let go of Eliott’s hand when there’s suddenly someone throwing themselves into Eliott’s arms.

The person pulls back from the embrace and Lucas finds himself curiously eyeing the man before them. He has graying hair slicked back perfectly and a thick beard on his face. He's wearing tight leather pants that look very uncomfortable and nothing but glitter on his chest. The man's eyes glance towards him and instantly spark up with interest. 

"Oooh, and who are you, beautiful?" 

Lucas doesn't get to answer because suddenly the man is all over him, grabbing at his wrists and raising them, touching over his arms, his hair, turning him around to inspect his back. It's making him feel dizzy and quite uncomfortable.

_What the fuck. Who does that?_

"Hmm, he's cute. Very beautiful eyes. Nice lips, perfect little butt… Is he going to participate in the auction?" The guy asks Eliott when he's finally done with the inspection. 

_The what now?_

The man is back in his personal space, whispering to him as if sharing a secret, "They are certainly going to fight for an angel's face like yours."

"What the fuck?" Lucas glares at the man, taking a threatening step forward and Eliott bursts out laughing. 

"He's joking, Lu," Eliott reassures, placing his arm around Lucas's shoulders to pull him back and away from the man. "This is Michael, one of the owners."

"Pleasure to meet you, oh, fierce one." Michael grins, holding out his hand that Lucas reluctantly shakes. "What's your name then?" 

"Lucas."

"What do you think of the show, Lucas?" He gestures towards the stage. "Beautiful, isn't it?" 

_Yes._

"Huh… it's alright." Lucas shrugs, trying to play it casual.

That's totally chill. A couple performing sexually on stage is completely normal. 

Michael levels him with a _look_ but thankfully, Eliott speaks up before the other can say anything else. 

"Where's Ben?" 

"Oh, probably somewhere avoiding me. We just had a fight." Michael grins. And why does he look so happy about having a fight with someone? "I can't wait for the punishment."

_Oh, Jesus. Okay…_

Eliott chuckles at that before he runs his hand down Lucas's spine. "Well… I was wondering if we could go up to the roof?" 

"Aw shame, you're not here to have some fun?" Michael pouts, eyeing Lucas up and down. "He would have looked pretty up on the stage." Lucas narrows his eyes at the man. “Alright, as we say in german, mi casa es su casa.”

“That’s Spanish, Michael…” Eliott sighs amusedly and reaches out to take the key that Michael is holding out to him. “Thank you. Say hi to Benjamin from me when you see him!" Then he turns to Lucas, a soft smile tugging on his lips. "Let's go?"

Lucas can only nod at that and follow after Eliott once he starts guiding them through the club.

"Why did you bring me here?" 

"Because the view up there is incredible.” They stop in front of a discreet door and Eliott unlocks it with the key. “And I want to woo you,” he adds with a grin when the door is locked behind them and they start taking the stairs.

_As if he needed to, Lucas is already gone on him._

When they reach the rooftop, Lucas stops dead in his tracks, wide eyes taking in the sight before him. The view of the city at sunrise is just breathtakingly beautiful… the sun is only starting to shyly show itself, spreading a pinkish-orange color through the sky. But apart from the view, the rooftop they’re standing on is simply gorgeous. There’s an angled sofa full of pillows, a large coffee table, and a few pillars where string light garlands spiral around the length to their right. On their left is a mini-bar. It’s gorgeous, it gives out a very comfy, chill-out vibe and Lucas just feels like throwing himself on the sofa and watch the sunrise above him.

“Do you like it?” Eliott pulls him out of his dumbfounded state.

“It’s so beautiful…”

“Hm-mhm, it is.” Eliott agrees, only looking at him and Lucas flushes at that.

“Stop,” he squeaks out and wraps his arms around Eliott’s waist to press his face against his chest. “... I’m not used to big gestures like this.” He admits, eyes still glancing around the romantic-looking rooftop. 

“Well,” Eliott’s holds Lucas's chin with his fingers, tilting his face up gently so Lucas can meet his eyes. “Get used to it because I’m going to romance you like no one ever has before.”

_No one has ever romanced me before,_ Lucas doesn’t say.

A soft smile spreads on his face and then he’s placing his hand gently on Eliott’s cheek and guiding him down for an open-mouthed kiss. Eliott's hands find their way down to his waist as he deepens their kiss and for a moment, they simply do that, getting lost in the softness and the taste of each other's lips until they both break apart at the same time to catch their breath. 

They find their way to the sofa, large enough to have them laying down on it and so they do. Lucas leaning back against the pillows to keep his upper body propped up as he spreads his legs, motioning for Eliott to take the space between them and the other does, quite eagerly if he must add. Lucas doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around him as Eliott rests his head comfortably on Lucas's shoulder. He looks so beautiful like this, soft and pliant in his arms that Lucas can't help but press small kisses on his temple, making the taller man sigh happily. 

"Who's Benjamin?" Lucas ends up asking when they spend a good amount of time in comfortable silence, watching the sun rise higher in the sky and the city slowly waking up. 

"Michael's husband, he's the one I was in college with." 

"They're married?"

"Mmh, they are." A pause and then Eliott adds with a breathy laugh, "I wish you could've met him though. They're… uhm, well, you've seen Michael but Ben is the complete opposite. He totally looks like a douche bro but he's actually a sweetheart. People find it hard to believe they're together when they first see them with their big age gap and how Michael is all flamboyant when Ben looks straight as hell. But when you see them together, really together, well… They're a lovely couple, could make anyone jealous."

"I'm sure we can beat them," Lucas says out of nowhere, unable to stop his mouth from spitting out the words but Eliott doesn't laugh at how stupid Lucas sounds. He doesn't flinch or react badly. Eliott smiles fondly, turning his head slightly to glance at Lucas from the corner of his eye. 

"We're definitely going to make people jealous."

The insinuation of that, how they are both looking forward to be a couple – well, Lucas can feel his heart flutter in his chest. 

"It's not going to be easy," Lucas whispers, knowing that he still has to work on his abandonment issues, it didn't just disappear. 

"I know," Eliott smiles, understanding what Lucas is talking about. "but we're going to work on it. Together."

_God, you're precious._

He's pretty sure he looks lovesick right now, looking at Eliott with fond eyes and a soft smile. 

"Together…" Lucas muses, "it sounds good."

"It does." Eliott agrees, tilting his face up to demand a kiss that Lucas happily obliges. 

*******

A little before lunchtime, Lucas decides that it's time for him to go back to Yann’s seeing as he hadn't warned his best friend that he wouldn't be spending the night at his place. So, in the hopes to be forgiven, Lucas stops by Yann’s favorite Indian restaurant and orders the usual. 

Having to leave Eliott after spending so many hours together wasn't easy. Eliott was clinging to him, refusing to let him go. He knew that he was being overdramatic and Lucas told him so in amusement, but a part of him was happy that it was as hard on Eliott to let him go as it was on Lucas to leave. 

Lucas pushes the door of Yann’s apartment open with his elbow, since his hands are currently busy and kicks it closed once he steps inside the threshold. 

"Honey, I'm home!" 

He finds Yann in the living room, sitting on the sofa, arms crossed and a scowl on his face as Ouba sleeps on her bed at his feet. What a sight. 

"Uhm…" Lucas hesitates and that makes Yann scowl harder. "I brought lunch?" He grins and lifts up the bags he was clutching on. Yann's eyes trail down to the bags before they move back up to Lucas's face. Still, he says nothing. "It's from your favorite Indian place…"

He could use some help right now. He doesn't know what to do with a silent Yann.

Last time his best friend gave him the silent treatment, it was because Lucas had accidentally killed Yann's hamster - or was it a Guinea pig? – while his best friend was away on a weekend to his family's house in the south and had asked Lucas to water the plants and feed the hamster/Guinea pig. Lucas had tried to replace it discreetly – and how was he supposed to know that his best friend would immediately see the difference because 'Norbert' didn't screech like that or whatever. Long story short, Yann gave him the silent treatment for a full week, making Lucas feel so guilty that after the thousandth apology and no reaction from his best friend, Lucas broke down in tears, afraid that Yann would abandon him because he couldn't even take care of his precious Norbert. 

Yann had ended up reassuring him, saying that he wasn't going to leave and that Lucas was still his best friend but that he was in a mourning state and also very pissed and needed some time to himself. 

In the end, it wasn't even Lucas's fault. Yann apologized for putting the blame on him because his Norbert died from some kind of illness and not because Lucas broke him or something. He kept wondering too, how he could have killed the rat when all he did was feed it and give it water. 

Lucas sighs, dropping the bags on the coffee table before he joins Yann on the sofa, not too close and sitting up all stiff and tense. 

"I'm sorry… I should have texted you."

"Do you know how worried I was?" Lucas grimaces, looking down at his lap and feeling like a child getting reprimanded by his dad.

"I'm sorry…" He repeats, not knowing what else to say. 

"I was worried sick, Lucas! I called you, I texted you, I called again and again and you never answered. A simple _I'm fine, Yann_ would have been enough. I had to go all the way to your apartment because I thought you were harming yourself or something."

_Yann went to his apartment?_

His question must be written all over his face because Yann says, "Yes, I was there. And I heard things I shouldn't have heard." At least he doesn't sound mad about that. "You were right by the way, the walls are very thin and it sucks when someone is going at it next door."

_Well, fuck._

A blush spreads across his cheeks, and he has to lick his dried lips before he replies, "Sorry…" It seems like he really can't say anything else but that word now. "It won't happen again… I mean – it will. I'll definitely see Eliott again but what I meant is that I won't uh, ignore you?" 

When the silence stretches for too long, Lucas dares a glance in Yann's direction and startles when he sees his best friend looking right at him, clearly amused and trying to suppress a smile. 

Then he smacks Lucas gently on the back of his head. 

"Ow! – Okay, I deserved that…" Lucas rubs the back of his head as though he was in pain when really it doesn't hurt at all. 

"You're an idiot."

"Ditto." 

They stare at each other before they burst in a fit of giggles. 

"So, you brought food? You knew I would be mad, huh? Well anticipated." 

"Just eat." Lucas rolls his eyes and they both dig in at the same time when his phone vibrates with a new text. 

Lucas is smiling like an idiot when he puts his phone away and glances towards his best friend, who is watching him curiously. Yann finally decides to ask the question Lucas knew he was dying to ask. 

"So… how did it go with Eliott? Please tell me you two actually talked and didn't go straight to the sex part. Did you guys fix things?" 

Lucas swallows the food in his mouth, considering how much he should tell Yann. But, that's his best friend and Lucas is dying to tell the details to someone. Besides, he's pretty sure Eliott is already on the phone with Lucille and telling her everything. 

"Well," Lucas puts down his fork and turns to Yann as he nurses the beer in his hand. "at first he didn't want to let me in and talk, but I insisted and told him that I just needed to talk to him and if after that, he still didn't want to see me again, I would leave him alone." Yann nods but doesn't saying anything, letting Lucas do the speaking. "So, he let me in and he was making that soup… God, he added kiwis to the soup Yann!" Lucas says that part indignantly and his best friend grimaces as he pictures it. 

"Exactly! It was–" Lucas shudders as if he could still taste the soup in his mouth. "Anyway. I started by apologizing to him–"

"Good, I would've kicked your ass if you hadn't started with an apology."

Lucas rolls his eyes, ignoring the fact that his best friend interrupted him before he continues. 

"And then, huh… We kind of had a fight which then lead to me telling him why I rejected him the way I did. I told him about how I'm scared to let people in, and I also told him about my father and Jonathan… then, he asked to look into my eyes, and this time I let him. It's like he could reach my soul with how deeply he looked straight into my eyes. And then, we kissed…" A small smile tugs on Lucas's lips. "and he asked me to stay, so after I agreed, we moved to the living room and ordered pizza, because that soup Yann – I'm telling you, it tasted like death! Anyway, we ate pizza and then we started kissing again but he was putting all his greasy sauced lips all over me and it was disgusting but also super cute! After that, we had to take a shower together, we washed each other and then he got down on his knees to s–" Yann clears his throat loudly, startling Lucas out of memory lane before a lazy smirk stretches on his lips. 

"Then we moved to his bed, _to take a nap!_ " He emphasizes at the panicked look Yann shoots his way, afraid that Lucas was once again going to get lost in the story and make it explicit. "Although, we did have sex after talking a bit more after the nap. – Hey! You tell me all about your straight sex with girls why shouldn't I brag too?" Lucas asks offended when Yann groans at the last part. 

"Okay, okay… I'm sorry. You're right."

"It's not my fault you're picturing it." He shrugs, losing the grin when Yann smacks a small fluffy pillow across his face. "Asshole, I wasn't finished with my explanation." Lucas huffs, trying to fix up his hair the best he can, which means making a bigger mess of it.

"Anyway," he starts again when he gives up with his hair. "We danced… _naked._ " He's only adding that part to be a little shit and it's funny the amount of faces expressions his best friend can make in such a short period of time. "And finally, he brought me to a rooftop to watch the sunrise over the beautiful city of love." He makes sure to not mention the whole sex club part, Yann doesn't need to know _everything_. 

"With your clothes on?" 

He burst out laughing at Yann's genuine question. "Yes, with our clothes on."

"Well, you look really gone on him, look at you." His best friend smiles fondly making Lucas blush furiously. There's no point denying it anyway, it's the truth. 

"I am… He's – I mean, he's so…" _Fuck, the words fail him._

"Oh my God Lucas, you love him!" 

Goddammit, Yann always knew how to read him like an open book. Why is he even surprised? 

"Oh, look at the time! Well, it was a great talk, Yann. But, I'm going out tonight. With Eliott. So, I gotta go get ready." Lucas hurries to stand on his feet. 

"It's 1pm…"

"Yeah, exactly! Got lots to do." He speed-walks to the bathroom but stops dead in his tracks before he enters inside. "Hey, huh, is it okay if you keep this to yourself for now? Eliott and I aren't exactly official yet and… Well, you know how the boys are. If I tell them Eliott and I are a thing, they're already going to plan the wedding." 

His best friend grins, "Yeah, they're going to be happier about you two than your own mother will ever be. They're really something – why do we hang out with them again?" 

"They make us look cool," Lucas says with a breathy laugh but he can't help the way his face immediately turn soft. 

His friends can be… a lot to deal with. But they are also the best friends anyone could ask for. 

They're his family. 

*******

Lucas feels a strong sense of déjà vu as he enters the restaurant where everything started. As if he went back in time. 

The other tables are all occupied, and the waitress is still the same woman from that night. He can tell she recognizes him when she walks him to the very same table and asks if he wants to drink anything. 

"I'm fine, thank you. I'm waiting for someone." Lucas says the exact words he told her back then and she giggles, quickly composing herself. 

"Very well, sir."

Lucas's heart is beating in his throat when he watches her walk away. He swallows thickly, takes in a deep breath and pulls out his phone, sending a quick text to Eliott. 

_I'm already there, can't wait to see you._

_You better show up._

And then he waits. He waits and waits, and Eliott doesn't show up. 

Lucas clutches at his phone, checking out the time every 10 seconds and growing irritated because well, Eliott is late. 

He's only 15 minutes late… It's not that bad, his brain supplies. Lucas shouldn't stress out. He will show up. He will. 

But then… Why isn't he answering his texts? 

The longer Lucas sits there the more he finds it hard to stay still and anxiety grows inside him. 

Just 5 more minutes, he tells himself as he glares down at the screen of his phone. 5 minutes and if Eliott doesn't show up… 

"Oh god, I’m so sorry baby. I was stuck at work and then the traffic was crazy!" 

Lucas's head snaps up so fast he feels dizzy. And he can't help but gape at the man standing before him with an amused grin on his face, eyes so blue, so gray, so captivating. 

Eliott takes the chair opposite him and leans slightly forward, elbows resting on the table. 

"Hi, I'm Eliott. Just go with it." He winks, very much enjoying himself right now. 

A rush of love for the other man surges all over his body, consuming him from the inside and it's quite literally overwhelming. 

Eliott is a dork. A charming, lovely dork. 

When Lucas suggested for them to go back to the restaurant where everything had started, this isn't what he had in mind. But Eliott showing up, acting like they had just grabbed a time machine and traveled back in time? 

They're starting over… 

Lucas blinks the tears away, trembling lips pulling up in a fond smile. 

"Lucas," he says, holding out his hand for a shake and lets out a surprised breathy laugh when Eliott, instead of shaking his hand, grabs it gently in his and places a soft kiss on his knuckles. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Lucas." Eliott looks straight into his eyes, making his heart skip a beat. "I want you to know that now that I have you, I'm never letting you go. I will stay for as long as you'll have me."

There is still a lot that needs to get fixed if they want what they have to work out. For starters, Lucas needs to see someone to help him with his abandonment issues but that's a problem for tomorrow when they have to get out of the little cocoon they created. For now, Lucas reaches out with his free hand and brushes the tip of his fingers across Eliott's eyebrow in a gentle touch, smiling as Eliott's eyes flutter when he leans into the touch. 

"Then, we have a lifetime together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, seems I'm going to be posting an epilogue soon. 👀
> 
> Oh, and, I'm also already planning a sequel. 
> 
> Also, Michael and Ben are a couple from the show called Tales of the City on Netflix 
> 
> Hope you guys liked it and, see you VERY soon! 😁


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to everyone who has been waiting for the epilogue. Honestly I have no excuses because this has been over with and edited for a few weeks now and I just happened to find the document. That's when it hit me that I completely forgot to post it so really I'm so so sorry guys! Hope you enjoy this last bit before we move along to the sequel of this story. 
> 
> As always a huge thanks to the best author on ao3 for beta-ing my fic. @flying_elliska you're the real MVP and you deserve ALL THE LOVE. Please go read and give her some love on her works I'm not even exaggerating when I say she's the best and most devoted writer in this fandom.

When Arthur walks into the bar, his friends are already there, sitting at a table at the far back, near a window - well, they are all here except Lucas, which is not surprising. Lucas hasn’t been in the best state of mind for the past week. When Arthur received that text from him, saying that he wouldn’t be coming to work, he hadn’t thought much of it at first. He thought Lucas was probably down with a cold or something. But, when a few days later, his boyfriend told him that he had talked to Lucille and heard from her that apparently Eliott wasn’t feeling well too, Arthur started to connect the dots and didn’t hesitate to close the shop for the day to check on his friend.

What he found - well, Lucas was a mess. Worse than when Jonathan had left nearly two years ago. Back then, his friend was at least still lucid enough to hide the fact that he was harming himself from them and make up lies about how he was  _ doing really good.  _ Now, Arthur isn’t saying that he’s glad that Lucas was able to hide it from them for so long - back then or now, it doesn’t change anything, it still hurts to know that Lucas feels like he has to harm himself for the people that leave him, for something he can’t control. But this time it’s different, this time his friend was like this because he was the one pushing Eliott away, or so that’s what his boyfriend said, which well, it’s not a surprise to him. Arthur knows that his friend refuses to let anyone new come into his life, and well… it’s sad really, he wishes he could do something to help Lucas with that. 

It was kind of a scary sight to see when he walked into his friend’s dark apartment, to find out that Lucas was just sitting there, completely numb, and looking as lifeless as ever. But due to the fact that he seemed to be a shell without a soul, Arthur was able to immediately see the little scars on his arms and warn his friends about Lucas’s state. Thankfully, they were able to help their friend before things got worse. Well, Arthur certainly felt better knowing that Lucas was staying at Yann’s, and if Yann is here tonight and not with Lucas, that meant their friend was doing better now, right?

“Yo,” he fistbumps his friends when he reaches the table before he takes a seat. “how is it going?”

“Hi baby, I missed you!” Basile grins at him. “Did you miss me?”

“Every second I’ve been away from you, Baz,” Arthur replies easily.

“Awww!”

“So… how’s Lucas?” He directs the question at Yann who’s taking a sip of his beer.

“He’s getting better,” Arthur lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “We talked a lot and he started to force himself out of the house to take Ouba on walks with me. I also put some bi-oil on his scars and they have nearly all disappeared.” Yann puts his beer down before he runs his thumb across his eyebrow. “He told me he’s thinking about seeing someone to - well, help him out with his issues, y’know?” 

“Fuck - yeah, that’s a really fucking good idea,” Arthur says with a nod.

“And how is Eliott then?” Basile asks him to the surprise of no one. 

Of course, Lucas is their best friend, if they had to, they’d choose him in a heartbeat. But, they’ve been friends with Eliott too, literally planning on getting him and Lucas together because they thought they’d be a good match for each other. Arthur is kind of sad that Lucas decided to push Eliott away instead of giving him a chance, they would have made a beautiful couple, of that he’s certain and he won’t change his mind because out of the three, he’s the one that really knows the two of them since he knows Eliott better that Yann and Basile do. He won’t change his mind about the fact that Lucas and Eliott could have been good for each other if they had given it a try. 

“Lucille texted me saying that he was getting better too, she’s been with him a lot lately and apparently he isn’t cursing Lucas to hell anymore so, that’s an improvement.” 

“Man… I wish it could have worked between them.” Basile sighs dejectedly and looks down at his beer with a sad look. He was really into that plan of getting Eliott and Lucas together, he even came up with a ship name for them;  _ Elu _ . 

"Maybe they will work things out, who knows? Don't worry, Baz." Arthur tries to comfort him with a pat on his shoulder. "Come on, cheer up now. I'm going to get myself a drink."

When Arthur comes back with a beer, Yann is gone from the table and Basile is sending out a text. 

"Where did Yann disappear to?" 

Basile puts down his phone and grins as he gestures to the other end of the bar. Arthur follows the direction he's pointing at to find Yann chatting up a cute brunette. Good for him, he hasn't gotten laid in a while. 

"What about you then, how's it going with your boy?" 

Arthur smiles bashfully. "It's amazing, he's great." 

"You're trying to get me jealous?" Basile huffs with a frown. 

"You're dating Daphné, you lost your chance baby."

"We could be like a polymanie couple?" 

"A poly-what?" Arthur snorts, rolling in his lips to not burst out into laughter. 

"You know? Like a threesome but it's not just sex? A polymanie."

"Baz… it's called polygam–" 

"Lucas?" Basile cuts him off with a gasp. 

"What?" 

"Oh my God," his friend smacks his hand harshly on the table, making him flinch. "Look!" 

Arthur curiously glances at what Basile is excitedly pointing at out the window. A mop of familiar wild hair walks by; Lucas. Basile hops out of his chair, ready to knock on the window to get Lucas's attention when another familiar figure walks past the window. Arthur grabs Basile just in time before he can knock on the window. 

"Wait! Is that Eliott?" He asks his friend with confusion. 

They glance at each other before they move as one to press their faces against the window and follow the duo with their eyes. 

"What are they doing together?" Basile asks in a whisper. 

"How should I know, Baz?"

His friend pulls back from the window and grabs his shoulder, forcing him to tear his gaze away from Lucas and Eliott and look at him instead. 

"We should follow them!" 

_ That's a terrible idea. _

Arthur grins. "I'm in!"

They hurry to get their jackets, leave money on the table and rush out of the bar. Thankfully, Eliott and Lucas are only down the street when they both walk out the door.

"Spy-mode activated." Basile says with an excited grin before he grabs Arthur by the wrist and starts speed-walking down the street as he whispers a familiar theme song. "Doo-bee-doo-bee-doo-bah! Doo-bee-doo-bee-doo-bah! Perry!" 

Oh fuck, they're going to get caught aren't they? 

"Basile, you need to stop watching Phineas and Ferb…" 

The whole spying situation gets fast to his head. He feels like a Sherlock Holmes with his John Watson. Or Starsky and Hutch. Although, they probably fit Dupont and Dupond better. 

For a while, all Eliott and Lucas do is walk down the street, Basile and Arthur keep themselves at a good distance, hiding behind walls or street poles – yes, they're dumb, but hey, they don't get caught – but they quickly get bored as nothing of importance is really happening. As long as they aren't killing each other… they should be fine. Arthur is about to tell Basile to just go back to the bar when Eliott suddenly throws his arm around Lucas's shoulders. 

Arthur flinches, for a second he thinks the taller man is going to attack, maybe punch or strangle his friend but then – Eliott kisses the top of Lucas's head and they certainly don't miss the way Lucas looks up at Eliott with a bright smile before he wraps his own arm around the other's waist. 

_ Huh.  _

"Do you see that too?" Basile asks in a whisper, grabbing the sleeve of Arthur's hoodie and shaking it excitedly. 

"Yes, Basile, I have eyes." 

"They're–" 

"We don't know that, maybe they're just fuck buddies again." Arthur says, already knowing what Basile has in mind. 

They try to get closer. Not too close, obviously, but close enough to try and catch their conversation. 

_ "... think he'll be expecting me." _ Lucas says. 

_ "You're coming home with me then?"  _ Eliott asks in a soft tone. 

_ "Mmh, my home, definitely. I miss my bed." _

Is Lucas… teasing him? Like, in a flirty way? 

_ "Is that so?"  _

Lucas giggles when Eliott smooths his hand down his side and suddenly starts tickling him and then, he runs and Eliott runs after him which in turn makes them start to run after them because they don't want to miss a thing. 

But well, Arthur trips, curses as he nearly falls on his face and the only reason he keeps upright on his feet is because Basile was quick to catch him. Lucas and Eliott freeze and in perfect synch, they turn to them. 

_ Fuck!  _

And then– 

Arthur is pushed up against the nearest wall as a pair of unfamiliar lips crash clumsily against his. 

Basile. 

Basile is fucking kissing him! 

"Play along, I'm sure they didn't notice it was us." Basile mumbles against his lips before he screws his eyes shut and presses his lips forward harder. A deep, pleased sound vibrates out of his friend's throat and all Arthur can do is stand still as he stares, eyes wide and unbelieving at the situation he just found himself in. 

A throat clears next to them. 

"Well, that's going to be awkward to explain to your girlfriend and to  _ your _ boyfriend."

Fucking dammit. 

Arthur pushes Basile off of him and turns to Lucas who is looking between them amusedly. Eliott stands next to him, arm wrapped around their friend's shoulders and looking just as amused. 

"Lucas! Eliott!" Basile exclaims cheerfully. "What are you two doing here?" 

"So we're just going to pretend we didn't catch you two following us and then shoving your tongues down each other's throats?" 

"That's not what happened," Arthur tries to save the situation but Basile cuts him off. 

"We didn't use tongue."

Eliott bursts into loud laughter and Lucas looks up at him fondly before he rolls his eyes as he glances back towards them. 

"Why are you following us?" Lucas asks with an exasperated sigh. 

"Well, actually it's a funny story," Basile chuckles and this time it's Arthur who interrupts him. 

"You two are together." 

Straight to the point. But well, he hasn't taken his eyes off of the duo and well, this is more than when they were fuck buddies. Lucas used to be pissed off and always pretended to hate Eliott when he was around. Now, he's blushing and looking at Eliott with lovesick eyes and well, no need to be a genius to connect the dots. 

"Well…" Lucas stutters. 

"Yes. We are together." Eliott confirms with a smile and Lucas looks up at him with wide eyes. 

Basile shrieks loudly next to him before he jumps into Eliott and Lucas's arms, squeezing them both in his hold. 

"Fucking finally!!! I knew it!" His friend yells and Arthur notices the couple wince. He only lets go of them when Arthur grabs the back of his shirt to pull him back. 

"Okay buddy, that's it, let them breathe – Congratulations you idiots, it's about time." Arthur grins at the two. "And, sorry for having followed you… We're just going to leave you two to go back into your honeymoon phase but, we expect to know everything soon."

"In details," Basile supplies with a nod.

"Alright, alright. Just, leave us alone now." Lucas waves them off, looking eager to be alone with Eliott again. Well, Arthur can't blame him, he only left the honeymoon phase recently, but he still remembers how he was so needy to be alone with his boyfriend all the time the first few weeks. 

"Alright, bye then–" 

"Bye!" Lucas grabs Eliott's hand who chuckles at the state of hurry the other is in. 

He follows Lucas as they turn around and start walking back down the street and glances behind his shoulder, waving with his free hand. 

"See you soon, guys." 

"Not that soon, though!" Lucas says, making them all laugh. 

Basile and Arthur stand there, watching them walk away, hand in hand. Their height difference is adorable, they really look beautiful together. 

"Think they're going to get married soon?" 

Arthur groans at his friend's question and shoves him back playfully. 

"Come on, let's go back. I need a beer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you soon, lovely human beings 💛


End file.
